Uncomfortable but Developmental: How Mindfulness Moderates the Impact of Negative Emotions on Learning
研究了在领导力发展项目中，正念如何调节负面情绪对学习绩效的影响，发现正念能减轻负面情绪的负面作用并增强其学习益处，且该效应通过认知评估（将负面情绪视为挑战）中介。
While leadership development theory and practice often promote emotionally challenging programs designed to elicit negative emotions, it remains unclear whether individuals learn and develop from such situations. An interesting but unexamined question is thus, “When do negative emotions stimulate learning, and how?” Integrating the functionalist theory of emotions and the transactional model of stress and coping, we suggest that mindfulness plays a key moderating role in alleviating the known downsides of negative emotional experiences to achieving developmental benefits. We find that the relationship between negative emotions and learning performance is more nuanced, depending on mindfulness: In Study 1, we find that mindfulness is a critical condition that helps mitigate the negative effect of negative emotions on learning performance. In Study 2, we further demonstrate that mindfulness amplifies the benefits of negative emotions on learning performance. In Studies 3 and 4, we conduct controlled interventions to provide evidence that the interaction effect between negative emotions and mindfulness on learning performance is mediated by cognitive appraisals. Specifically, we find that mindfulness helps individuals appraise negative emotion as a challenge, which enhances learning performance. We discuss our results’ contributions to the leadership development literature and the practical implications for leadership education and training.