Final answer:
Workers are most likely to experience emotional dissonance during surface acting, as it involves outwardly displaying emotions that do not match their true feelings, leading to stress and reduced job satisfaction. The correct answer is option: b. surface acting.
Step-by-step explanation:
Workers are most likely to experience emotional dissonance when they are engaged in surface acting. Emotional dissonance occurs when there is a conflict between the emotions people feel and the emotions they project to comply with social or professional norms. This concept is especially relevant in jobs requiring constant interaction with customers or clients, where workers must often present a positive or neutral expression regardless of their actual feelings.
Surface acting, unlike deep acting, doesn’t involve trying to change one's feelings internally to match the external expression; it merely involves changing outward displays of emotion. This type of 'acting' can be stressful because the individual is aware of the lack of authenticity in their expressions, which can lead to a sense of alienation and reduced job satisfaction. In contrast, deep acting involves an attempt to align genuine feelings with the required display of emotion, which can result in less emotional dissonance.