Embarrassment, emotional contagion and management: a cross-cultural study

Abstract

This paper aimed to know if susceptibility to emotional contagion and embarrassment are related to management role, sex and educational level in a comparative study between Brazil and Angola. Participated 431 workers (164 men and 267 women), 300 from Brazil and 131 from Angola, 71,5% graduated or post-graduated, 37,8% working as managers and mean age was 30 years. An electronic survey was used to measure the Embarrassment Questionnaire and Emotional Contagion. Factorial solutions were distinct in both countries. Only in Angola, women in manager position at least graduated showed lower levels of embarrassment than men in the same conditions. In Brazil, the educational level modifies the susceptibility to contagion of positive emotions, considering the variables management role and sex. The results showed positive correlations between embarrassment and emotional contagion in both countries.