The collective construction of work group moods

This research examines mood as a collective property of work groups. We arg ue that work group members experience group moods when they can detect and display mood information through observable behavioral expressions. To test the hypothesis that work group moods are manifested behaviorally, we devel oped an observational instrument and compared observers' reports of work gr oup mood with self-reported measures from 70 work groups. As predicted, gro ups converged for eight distinct mood categories, and observers' reports of work group mood were consistent with groups' aggregated self-reported valu es. Convergence in members' moods was positively associated with task and s ocial interdependence, membership stability, and mood regulation norms. The oretical and practical implications of work group mood are discussed.