Individual Responses to Paradox: The Articulation Between Emotion and Cognition

Abstract

This article examines how emotions and cognition work together to shape individual responses to paradox. While much-existing research focuses on organizational response or the effect that either emotions or cognitions have on individual responses, our work shows how emotion and cognition work together to create individual responses. Based on a qualitative study of a global organization with employees who regularly face paradoxes, we found two cognitive appraisals (perception regarding the difficulty of managing paradoxical tensions and self-perception of leadership role) that either generate emotion or regulate response. By examining the interlinking of appraisal – emotion – appraisal – response, we identify two mechanisms that demonstrate the articulation between emotion and cognition: the non-regulated response and the regulated response. We contribute to the existing literature by detailing each mechanism and explaining how emotions and cognition work together to shape individual responses.