Affect, curiosity, and socialization-relation were explored as potential mediators of the relationship between both state and trait affect and job performance. The cross-sectional sample consisted of 81 women and 152 men between the ages of 17 and 50 or older. The typical participant was a male Caucasian under the age of 40 with some college education and an annual salary of less than $30,000 per year. The participants were obtained from four well-established service industry companies in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The data collection measures included the State-Trait Personality Inventory, a modified version of the Workplace Adaptation Questionnaire, a self-reported measure of job performance, and demographic survey. Two a priori determined "recursive" path models suggesting the causal influence of anger, anxiety, and curiosity on socialization-related learning and (ultimately) job performance were tested. The study provided empirical support for the notion that anger and anxiety, which are two types of emotion that are often overlooked by organizational researchers, can either foster or deter workplace job performance through their influence on individual learning. The study also yielded evidence suggesting that curiosity might be an important mediator between emotion and job performance. (Contains 26 references.) (MN)