Affect, Attention, and Episodic Performance

Abstract

Any individual’s work performance can vary from day to day and even over the course of a single day. Traditional, static models of job performance that focus on modeling between-person differences in job performance can provide only an incomplete picture of work-performance processes. In this article, we explore within-person variability in performance and its association with changing emotional states and attentional resources. First, the notion of performance episodes is introduced as a useful unit for modeling within-person performance across the workday. Second, we explore the emotion–performance link and show that affective states influence work performance by impacting the attentional resources dedicated to the task. Finally, the variability in affective experiences is discussed in terms of core affect and emotion episodes and their unique effect on individuals’ attention and regulatory resources. The results describe a generalized model of work performance that is influenced by co-occurring affective states and fluctuating attentional resources.