| Course | IOP-7100 The Psychology of Leadership, Motivation, and Teamwork |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 4 |
| Paper type | Written assignment: workplace attitudes and affect |
| Length | About 536 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Graduate Certificate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for IOP 7100 Module 4
Feelings at Work Are Work: Attitudes, Engagement and Moods in a Busy Accounting Firm
Student Name
Graduate Certificate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Thomas Edison State University
IOP-7100: The Psychology of Leadership, Motivation, and Teamwork
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Feelings at Work Are Work: Attitudes, Engagement and Moods in a Busy Accounting Firm
The Debate
After our engagement survey showed low scores among associates, one partner argued that attitudes are "nice to have" and that results come from hours and skill. Another argued that unhappy associates make more mistakes. Both positions are testable claims about cause.
Do Attitudes Cause Performance?
Riketta (2008) addressed this question with a meta-analysis of panel studies, in which attitudes and performance are measured at two or more points in time, allowing stronger inferences about direction than single surveys. He found that job attitudes such as satisfaction and commitment had a small but significant effect on later performance, while the effect of performance on later attitudes was weaker still and not significant. The effect is modest, so attitudes are not the main driver of results, but the partner who dismissed them is also wrong: better attitudes do lead to somewhat better work.
Engagement as the Link
Rich et al. (2010) studied firefighters and their supervisors and found that job engagement, investing physical, cognitive and emotional energy in work, explained the relationships between value congruence, perceived organizational support and core self-evaluations on one side and task performance and organizational citizenship behavior on the other. Engagement predicted performance beyond job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation. For our firm, engagement may be the more useful target than satisfaction, because it captures the energy associates bring to difficult work during busy season.
How Moods Spread
Barsade and Gibson (2007) reviewed research on affect in organizations and concluded that emotions and moods influence judgment, decision making, creativity and teamwork, and that moods spread among team members through emotional contagion. Leaders' displayed emotions are especially contagious. In our firm, review meetings are where partners' moods are most visible: associates describe partners who mark up workpapers in silence and leave frustrated notes at midnight.
| Finding | Implication | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Attitudes modestly affect later performance | Worth improving, not a cure-all | Track engagement alongside quality measures |
| Engagement links conditions to performance | Build support and fit | Clarify how each associate's work matters to clients |
| Leaders' moods spread | Partners shape team affect | Review feedback delivered in person with one positive note and clear next steps |
Recommendations
Partners will deliver review comments in a short conversation rather than by midnight notes during busy season, starting with what was done well and ending with clear next steps. Managers will explain at each engagement kickoff how the associate's work affects the client. And engagement will be surveyed twice a year beside quality measures such as review notes, so the firm can see whether changes in engagement precede changes in quality.
A Note on Limits
These findings come from studies in other settings, such as firefighting, and from panel research across many jobs. Accounting work has its own rhythms, so the firm should treat the recommendations as reasonable tests rather than certainties and check whether engagement and quality move together over the next two seasons.
Conclusion
Attitudes and affect are not separate from performance. Research shows attitudes have a modest effect on later work, engagement links conditions to performance and leaders' moods spread through teams. Changing how partners communicate during reviews is a low-cost step supported by that evidence.
References
Barsade, S. G., & Gibson, D. E. (2007). Why does affect matter in organizations? Academy of Management Perspectives, 21(1), 36-59. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2007.24286163
Rich, B. L., LePine, J. A., & Crawford, E. R. (2010). Job engagement: Antecedents and effects on job performance. Academy of Management Journal, 53(3), 617-635. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.51468988
Riketta, M. (2008). The causal relation between job attitudes and performance: A meta-analysis of panel studies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(2), 472-481. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.2.472
What the IOP 7100 Module 4 instructions ask for
IOP-7100's fourth module covers workplace attitudes and affect, and this page shows its written assignment. You will examine how job attitudes and emotions relate to performance and behavior in a real organization, using research on direction of effects, engagement and emotional contagion, and recommend practical changes. Robbins and Judge's chapters on attitudes and emotions introduce the topics. Be careful about cause and effect, since many studies are correlational, and choose research designs, such as panel studies, that speak to direction. Separate attitudes from moods and emotions, since research treats them differently. Report effect sizes honestly, even when they are small. Explain where emotions spread in your workplace.
How this IOP 7100 Module 4 example is built
The paper starts with two partners' opposing claims about whether attitudes matter, treating both as testable. Riketta's panel meta-analysis shows a small causal effect of attitudes on later performance and an even weaker reverse effect. Rich, LePine and Crawford's study of firefighters makes engagement the link between working conditions and performance. Barsade and Gibson's review explains how moods spread, especially from leaders, and the paper locates that effect in busy-season reviews. A three-row table moves from finding to implication to change, and the recommendations reform how partners give review feedback and how engagement is tracked. The recommendations focus on moments, such as review meetings, where moods are most likely to spread. A closing note treats the recommendations as tests to be checked over two seasons.
Reading the IOP 7100 Module 4 grading rubric
Marks follow a correct reading of attitude and emotion research, careful thinking about what causes what, one real firm as the case, workable advice and APA form. Papers that use research designed to test direction, such as panel studies, show methodological awareness. Reporting effect sizes honestly, including small ones, shows care. Connecting emotional contagion to specific moments at work shows applied insight. Recommendations that can be tracked over time show the evidence-based approach the course values. Mentors also credit attention to leaders' displayed emotions, a practical lever the module's research points to. Noting where research comes from other settings shows careful use of evidence.
IOP 7100 Module 4 help: mistakes that cost marks
Students lose marks by assuming that happy employees are always more productive, by treating emotions as irrelevant to work or by citing correlations as proof of cause. Define the attitudes you discuss, use research that addresses direction where possible, connect moods and emotions to specific situations and recommend changes that can be measured. A free first sample of your IOP-7100 Module 4 assignment can be prepared on your organization. Point to the specific situations where emotions shape work in your organization, rather than discussing feelings in general. Treat recommendations based on research from other jobs as tests to check in your own setting. Point to the moment, such as a review, where moods spread.
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This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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IOP 7100 Module 4 questions, answered
Where can I find a free IOP 7100 Module 4 sample paper?
The paper above applies research on attitudes, engagement and emotional contagion to partners and associates at an accounting firm.
Do job attitudes cause performance?
Riketta's panel meta-analysis found a small effect of attitudes on later performance and an even weaker effect in the other direction.
What is job engagement?
Investing physical, cognitive and emotional energy in one's work, which Rich and colleagues linked to performance.
What is emotional contagion?
The spread of moods and emotions among people, with leaders' displayed emotions especially influential.
Why use panel studies to study attitudes and performance?
Measuring both at several times allows stronger conclusions about which influences the other.