Affective Events Theory
Weiss, Cropanzano · 1996 · AET
Summary
Affective Events Theory (AET) reframes work attitudes as the product of accumulated affective experiences. Hassles and uplifts at work trigger discrete emotions whose intensity is moderated by stable affective dispositions; these emotional reactions then drive both immediate affect-driven behaviors (helping, sabotage, voice) and slower-forming judgment-driven attitudes (job satisfaction, commitment). AET dislodged the static-attitude tradition by demanding longitudinal designs that capture the temporal cascade from event → emotion → behavior/attitude.
Canonical constructs
- construct.work_event (unresolved)
- construct.affective_reaction (unresolved)
- construct.affective_disposition (unresolved)
- construct.work_attitude (unresolved)
- construct.affect_driven_behavior (unresolved)
- Job Satisfaction
Canonical relations
| From | Predicate | To | Central | Mechanism |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| construct.work_event | predicts | construct.affective_reaction | yes | |
| construct.affective_disposition | moderates | construct.affective_reaction | yes | |
| construct.affective_reaction | predicts | construct.affect_driven_behavior | yes | |
| construct.affective_reaction | predicts | construct.work_attitude | yes | |
| construct.work_attitude | predicts | construct.job_satisfaction |
Synthesized priors (where available) live under /registry/priors/{from}/{predicate}/{to}.
Related theories
Theories sharing one or more canonical constructs with this one.
Foundational citations
Citation ids referenced (2) — not yet resolved to citation records.