dr. G.A. (Gerben) van Kleef - University of Amsterdam

Research

Currently, my main research interests are in the areas of emotion, power, conflict, and (inter)group processes. In all these areas my interest is in fundamental social-psychological influence processes and their implications for prosocial behavior, organizational life, and society at large.

Below I describe the basic questions that guide my research, highlight some of the key findings and conclusions emerging from this work, and list some illustrative publications in the respective research programs

Emotion

My work on emotion focuses on the social effects of emotional expressions. Traditionally, research on emotion has focused primarily on intrapersonal effects. In my own research I study emotions at the interpersonal level of analysis. The central question in this research program is: How doone person's emotional expressions influence other people's feelings, thoughts, and behavior?

I have developed the Emotions as Social Information (EASI) model to enhance understanding of how emotions regulate social life. Social life is ambiguous. People therefore turn to others' emotions to inform their behavior. Emotional expressions shape behavior and regulate social life by eliciting affective reactions in targets (e.g., reciprocal emotions, sentiments about the expresser) and by triggering inferential processes (e.g., inferences about the source, meaning, and implications of the expresser's emotion). The relative strength of the two processes depends on the target's information processing and on social-contextual factors.

Together with my collaborators, I study the interpersonal effects of emotions in a variety of social and organizational settings, such as persuasion, compliance, conformity, conflict, negotiation, leadership, team performance, and personal relationships.

For instance, we demonstrated that expressing anger can help negotiators to get a better deal, provided that the counterpart is sufficiently motivated to consider the implications of the anger (Van Kleef, De Dreu, & Manstead, 2004, JPSP). We also found that expressing disappointment can help to extract concessions, whereas expressing guilt invites exploitation (Van Kleef, De Dreu, & Manstead, 2006, JPSP).

In another study that is illustrative of this research program my colleagues and I investigated the effects of emotional expressions of leaders on the motivation and performance of followers. We showed that followers who score low on agreeableness perform better with an angry leader than with a happy leader, whereas followers high on agreeableness function poorly when their leader gets angry because the anger undermines the social harmony that they strive for (Van Kleef, Homan, Beersma, & van Knippenberg, 2010, Psych. Science).

Illustrative publications

Van Kleef, G. A. (2009). How emotions regulate social life: The emotions as social information (EASI) model. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18, 184-188.
Van Kleef, G. A., Homan, A. C., Beersma, B., & Van Knippenberg, D. (2010). On angry leaders and agreeable followers: How leaders' emotions and followers' personalities shape motivation and team performance. Psychological Science, 21, 1827-1834.
Van Kleef, G. A., De Dreu, C. K. W., & Manstead, A. S. R. (2004). The interpersonal effects of anger and happiness in negotiations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 57-76.
Van Kleef, G. A., Anastasopoulou, C., & Nijstad, B. A. (2010). Can expressions of anger enhance creativity? A test of the emotions as social information (EASI) model. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46, 1042-1048.
Van Kleef, G. A., De Dreu, C. K. W., & Manstead, A. S. R. (2006). Supplication and appeasement in conflict and negotiation: The interpersonal effects of disappointment, worry, guilt, and regret. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 124-142.

Power

My research on power addresses three broad questions. The first question is how the experience of power shapes responsiveness to other individuals. Across a variety of social settings, my colleagues and I have demonstrated that power diminishes such responsiveness. For instance, one study revealed that power dampens compassionate and empathic responses to other people's suffering (Van Kleef, Oveis, Van der Löwe, LuoKogan, Goetz, & Keltner, 2008, Psych. Science). The study showed that the powerful are less motivated tomakesocialconnections with others. When confronted with another person's distress, an autonomic emotion regulation system (tempering of the heart rate by the nervus vagus) insulates them from the other's distress, thereby dampening emotional responsiveness.

The second broad question is how power regulates social interaction in groups. In the reciprocal influence model of social power (Keltner, Van Kleef, Chen, & Kraus, 2008, Adv. in Exp. Soc. Psych.) we postulate that power serves as a heuristic solution to conflict by prioritizing the goals and needs of those higher in the hierarchy over those lower in the hierarchy.

The third broad research question is how people attain power. In this research program, my collaborators and I currently investigate how norm violations shape power perceptions and status conferral. This research revealed that norm violators can gain power in the eyes of others because their behavior signals that they feel free to act as they please despite normative constrains (Van Kleef, Homan, Finkenauer, Gündermir, & Stamkou, 2011, SPPS). We have further demonstrated that prosocial norm violations - those that benefit others - fuel power affordance (Van Kleef, Homan, Finkenauer, Blaker, & Heerdink, in press, JESP).

Illustrative publications

Van Kleef, G. A., Homan, A. C., Finkenauer, C., Gündemir, S., & Stamkou, E. (2011). Breaking the rules to rise to power: How norm violators gain power in the eyes of others. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2, 500-507.
Van Kleef, G. A., Oveis, C., Van der Löwe, I., LuoKogan, A., Goetz, J., & Keltner, D. (2008). Power, distress, and compassion:Turning a blind eye to the suffering of others. Psychological Science, 19, 1315-1322.
Keltner, D., Van Kleef, G. A., Chen, S., & Kraus, M. (2008). A reciprocal influence model of social power: Emerging principles and lines of inquiry. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 40, 151-192.
Van Kleef, G. A., De Dreu, C. K. W., Pietroni, D., & Manstead, A. S. R. (2006). Power and emotion in negotiation: Power moderates the interpersonal effects of anger and happiness on concession making. European Journal of Social Psychology [Thematic Issue on Social Power], 36,557-581.
Van Kleef, G. A., Homan, A. C., Finkenauer, C., Blaker, N. M., & Heerdink, M. W. (in press). Prosocial norm violations fuel power affordance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

Conflict and (inter)group processes

My third broad research interest is in conflict and (inter)group processes. Within this research program we address several questions. One question is how a person's standing in the group shapes his or her behavior vis-à-vis outgroups. We found that individuals who occupy a peripheral position in their group behave more in accordance with group norms than those who have a more stable and secure position (Steinel, Van Kleef, van Knippenberg, Hogg, Homan, & Moffitt, 2010, GPIR). Because intergroup relations are often characterized by competitive norms and expectations, representatives in intergroup conflict who feel insecure in their own group are more likely to adopt a competitive stance towards the outgroup (Van Kleef, Steinel, van Knippenberg, Hogg, & Svensson, 2007, BJSP).

In another line of research we explore the biological basis of intergroup bias.In one study we showed that oxytocin drives parochial altruism in intergroup conflict. Oxytocin makes individuals more trusting and cooperative towards ingroup members, but it also promotes defensive aggression towards outgroup members (De Dreu et al., 2010, Science).

Another project explores the role of gossip in regulating group behavior. We have identified four distinct motivations for gossip: information search and validation, social enjoyment, negative influence, and group protection (Beersma & Van Kleef, in press). Our current efforts are aimed at understanding when individuals use gossip as a means to warn their group against norm violators, and how such gossip shapes group members' adherence to group norms (e.g., Beersma & Van Kleef, 2011, SPPS).

Illustrative publications

De Dreu, C. K. W., Greer, L. L., Handgraaf, M. J. J., Shalvi, S., Van Kleef, G. A., Baas, M., Ten Velden, F. S., Van Dijk, E., & Feith, S. W. W. (2010). The neuropeptide oxytocin regulates parochial altruism in intergroup conflict among humans. Science, 328, 1408-1411.
Van Kleef, G. A., Steinel, W., Van Knippenberg, D., Hogg, M., & Svensson, A. (2007). Group memberprototypicality and intergroup negotiation: How one’s standing in the group affects negotiation behaviour. British Journal of Social Psychology, 46, 129-154.
Beersma, B., & Van Kleef, G. A. (2011). How the grapevine keeps you in line: Gossip increases contributions to the group. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2, 642-649.
Van Kleef, G. A., & Côté, S. (2007). Expressing anger in conflict: When ithelps and when it hurts. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1557-1569.
Homan, A. C., van Knippenberg, D., Van Kleef, G. A., & De Dreu, C. K. W. (2007). Bridging faultlines by valuing diversity: Diversity beliefs, information elaboration, andperformance in diverse work groups. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 1189-1199.

EASI lab

EASI lab is dedicated to the study of emotion in social interaction, with particular emphasis on the role of emotion in social influence. Social influence is a defining feature of life. Wherever people interact, they influence each other's attitudes, judgments, and behaviors. This is often an emotional enterprise. Consider how easily a conversation about politics can turn into a heated debate...

We know little about the interpersonal effects of emotions in social influence situations. This is striking if we consider how often people (attempt to) engender social influence by expressing emotions. Through our emotional expressions we influence other people in our social environment—whether deliberately or inadvertently, in politics, propaganda, in close relationships, or at work.

How do emotions shape various forms of social influence, such as persuasion, compliance,and conformity? According to the Emotions as Social Information (EASI) model (Van Kleef, 2009, 2010; Van Kleef et al., 2010, 2011), emotional expressions wield social influence by providing information and/or by eliciting affective reactions in targets. Which process takes precedence depends on the observer's information processing motivation and ability and on social-contextual factors.

EASI lab attempts to enhance scientific understanding of the role of emotion in social influence by systematically investigating the effects of discrete emotional expressions on various forms of social and organizational behavior.

Current members (in order of appearance)

Gerben van Kleef. Main interests: emotion, power, social influence, conflict, prosocial behavior.

Evert-Jan van Doorn (PhD student). Main interests: emotion, normative influence, compliance, learning, stereotyping, discrimination. Evert-Jan's personal website can be found at http://home.medewerker.uva.nl/e.a.vandoorn/

Marc Heerdink (PhD student). Main interests: emotion, conformity, groups, need to belong, social exclusion. Marc's personal website can be found at http://home.medewerker.uva.nl/m.w.heerdink/

Lukas Koning (postdoc). Main interests: power, emotion, lying and deception, ethics.

Arik Cheshin (postdoc). Main interests: emotions in groups and organizations, virtual teams.

Eftychia Stamkou (PhD student). Main interests: emotion, power

Illustrative publications

Van Kleef, G. A. (2009). How emotions regulate social life: The emotions as social information (EASI) model. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18, 184-188.
Van Kleef, G. A. (2010). The emerging view of emotion as social information. Social and Personality Psychology Compass,4/5, 331-343.
Van Kleef, G. A., De Dreu, C. K. W., & Manstead, A. S. R. (2010). An interpersonal approach to emotion in social decision making: The emotions as social information model. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 42, 45-96.
Van Kleef, G. A., Van Doorn, E. A., Heerdink, M. W., & Koning, L. F. (2011). Emotion is for influence. European Review of Social Psychology, 22, 114-163.
Van Doorn, E. A., Heerdink, M. W., & Van Kleef, G. A. (2012). Emotion and the construal of social situations: Inferences of cooperation versus competition from expressions of anger, happiness, and disappointment. Cognition and Emotion, 26, 442-461.