An Experimental Study on the Attribution of Personality Traits to Bullies and Targets in a Workplace Setting

Pallesen, Ståle; Nielsen, Morten Birkeland; Magerøy, Nils; Andreassen, Cecilie Schou; Einarsen, Ståle

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01045

Cited by 22 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 51 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…These distinct effects suggest that individuals have a more differentiated stereotype of an ostracizable face than merely that of a face that is perceived as either positive or negative. This ostracism stereotype is also in line with research that has demonstrated that the stereotypical image of a bully, a target that individuals may wish to ostracize, is that of a person low in agreeableness and conscientiousness (Pallesen, Nielsen, Mageroy, Andreassen, & Einarsen, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Who gets ostracized? A personality perspective on risk and protective factors of ostracism.

Rudert¹,

Keller

Hales

et al. 2020

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ostracism, excluding and ignoring others, results from a variety of factors. Here, we investigate the effect of personality on the likelihood of becoming a target of ostracism. Theorizing that individuals low in conscientiousness or agreeableness are at risk of getting ostracized, we tested our hypotheses within five pre-registered studies: Four experiments investigating participants' willingness to ostracize targets characterized by different personality traits and a reverse correlation face modelling study where we determined and subsequently validated the stereotypical face of an ostracized person. A survey study within a representative German data panel further corroborated our findings. In line with our hypotheses, persons low in conscientiousness or agreeableness provoke more ostracism intentions (Studies 1, 2, and 4), are more likely to be actually ostracized by others (Study 3), represent the stereotype of an "ostracizable" person (Study 5), and report experiencing more ostracism (Study 6). Effects remained stable even after controlling for likeability of the target (Study 2 and 4). Moreover, being described as negative on one personality dimension could not be compensated by being described as positive on the other (Study 4). In exploratory analyses, we further investigated the effects of openness to experience, neuroticism and extraversion. In sum, we find evidence that personality affects the likelihood of becoming a target of ostracism, and that especially low agreeableness and conscientiousness represent risk factors.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Who gets ostracized? A personality perspective on risk and protective factors of ostracism.

Rudert¹,

Keller

Hales

et al. 2020

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…19,20 In a survey of adults, the experience of being victimized was shown to lead to high neuroticism. 21 Research on a 3-wave-survey with a long interval in a workplace showed that being victimized is associated with increased neuroticism, and neuroticism decreases in the absence of victimization. 22 These reports imply that being victimized increases neuroticism.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>Victimization In Childhood Affects Depression In Adulthood Via Neuroticism: A Path Analysis Study</p>

Tachi

Asamizu

Uchida

et al. 2019

NDT

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Adverse experiences, such as low care, overprotection, or abuse in childhood increase the likelihood of depression via their effects on personality traits. Similarly, being victimized in childhood may affect the likelihood of depression via personality traits. In this case-control study, we hypothesized that being victimized in childhood is associated with depression in adulthood via its effect on neuroticism, and verified this hypothesis using path analysis. Subjects and methods: Eighty-two major depressive disorder (MDD) patients and 350 age-and-sex matched healthy controls completed self-administered questionnaires of demographic data, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, neuroticism, and victimization. The association between victimization, neuroticism, and depressive symptoms or having major depression was investigated by path analysis. Results: Multiple group path analysis, in which depressive symptoms were considered as dependent variables, showed that the direct effect of victimization in childhood on depressive symptoms was not statistically significant in either healthy controls or MDD patients (standardized path coefficient: 0.079 and 0.084, respectively), but their indirect effects via neuroticism were statistically significant (standardized path coefficient: 0.059 and 0.141, respectively). Path analysis, in which the distinction between healthy controls and MDD patients was a dependent variable, showed that both direct effects and indirect effects of victimization in childhood via neuroticism on the distinction between healthy controls and MDD patients were statistically significant (standardized path coefficient: 0.186 and 0.164, respectively). Limitations: Recall bias and the relatively small number of MDD patients are limitations of this study. Because it was a case-control survey, this study could not make any conclusions regarding causal associations. Conclusion: This study suggests the possibility of causal associations between victimization in childhood and depressive symptoms or MDD in adulthood, and the mediation of this association by neuroticism.

show abstract

“…Rai and Agarwal (2019) examined personality as an antecedent of bullying and recommended to further investigate the phenomenon by arriving at a more authentic conclusion. These calls to explore personality traits of parties involved in bullying, associating personality traits with bullying, and establishing a cause-and-effect relationship between personality and workplace bullying for developing theoretical models (Zapf & Einarsen, 2003)and applied purposes (Nielsen et al, 2017;Pallesen, Nielsen, Magerøy, Andreassen, & Einarsen, 2017)necessitate further research in this avenue. As there is consistent cross-cultural validation of five-factor model of personality (McCrae& John, 1992), current study has used FFM of personality traits as suggested by Nielsen et al (2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Personality Traits as the Antecedents of Workplace Bullying

Munir¹,

Ali²,

Haider³

2021

IRMBR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is an ample body of knowledge showing significant association between five factor model (FFM) of personality traits and workplace bullying, yet exploring cause-and-effect relationship between them is still under addressed. To address this issue, current study has analyzed personality traits of Five-Factor Model as a potential antecedent of workplace bullying and its three sub-facets (verbal bullying, social bullying and physical bullying). Study analyzed responses of 266 respondents to draw inferences. Simple random sampling technique was used to collect data from the respondents. Correlation analysis showed a positive association of extraversion with physical bullying; negative association of agreeableness with workplace bullying, verbal bullying, social bullying and physical bullying; negative association of conscientiousness with workplace bullying, verbal bullying, social bullying and physical bullying; and negative association of emotional stability with physical bullying. Results of regression analysis showed significant effect of agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experiences on workplace bullying, verbal bullying, social bullying and physical bullying. Current study has identified personality as an important predictor of workplace bullying through which organizations may control incidence of bullying at their workplace environments. Current study also has highlighted important insights for future research directions. Keywords: Five Factor Model (FFM), Personality Traits, Workplace Bullying, Physical Bullying, Verbal Bullying, Social Bullying.

show abstract

An Experimental Study on the Attribution of Personality Traits to Bullies and Targets in a Workplace Setting

Cited by 22 publications

References 51 publications

Who gets ostracized? A personality perspective on risk and protective factors of ostracism.

Who gets ostracized? A personality perspective on risk and protective factors of ostracism.

<p>Victimization In Childhood Affects Depression In Adulthood Via Neuroticism: A Path Analysis Study</p>

Investigating Personality Traits as the Antecedents of Workplace Bullying

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About