I Know You Did It
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 2011, Vol. 16, No. 1, 80 –94
© 2011 American Psychological Association 1076-8998/11/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0021708
I Know What You Did: The Effects of Interpersonal Deviance on Bystanders
Merideth Ferguson
Baylor University
Bruce Barry
Vanderbilt University
Using social information processing theory, we explore how interpersonally directed deviance affects work group members who observe or are aware of these insidious behaviors. In a field study, we find that indirect knowledge of work group member interpersonal deviance leads to subsequent interpersonal deviance of a focal individual. We also find that when work group cohesion is high, direct observation of deviance is more likely to result in subsequent bystander deviance. These findings add concretely to theory and research on the bystander effects of workplace deviance. Keywords: deviance, bystander, cohesion, social information processing theory
The phenomenon of workplace deviance is pervasive in organizations (Keashly & Jagatic, 2000; Rayner & Keashly, 2005) and has captured the attention of management researchers. Workplace deviance refers to voluntary individual behavior that violates organizational norms and threatens the well-being of the organization, its members, or both (Robinson & Bennett, 1995). Although voluntary, it need not be volitional—it does not require intent to harm. Two forms have been described in the literature: interpersonal deviance and organizational deviance (Bennett & Robinson, 2000). Interpersonal deviance refers to behaviors targeting organization members (e.g., verbal abuse, sharing offensive jokes or comments, ethnic or racial slurs), whereas organizational deviance captures behaviors directed at the organization rather than at individuals (e.g., theft, drug use, intentional work slowdowns, and the like) (Robinson & Bennett, 1995). The interpersonal deviance domain encompasses a wide variety of behaviors, including but not
© 2011 American Psychological Association 1076-8998/11/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0021708
I Know What You Did: The Effects of Interpersonal Deviance on Bystanders
Merideth Ferguson
Baylor University
Bruce Barry
Vanderbilt University
Using social information processing theory, we explore how interpersonally directed deviance affects work group members who observe or are aware of these insidious behaviors. In a field study, we find that indirect knowledge of work group member interpersonal deviance leads to subsequent interpersonal deviance of a focal individual. We also find that when work group cohesion is high, direct observation of deviance is more likely to result in subsequent bystander deviance. These findings add concretely to theory and research on the bystander effects of workplace deviance. Keywords: deviance, bystander, cohesion, social information processing theory
The phenomenon of workplace deviance is pervasive in organizations (Keashly & Jagatic, 2000; Rayner & Keashly, 2005) and has captured the attention of management researchers. Workplace deviance refers to voluntary individual behavior that violates organizational norms and threatens the well-being of the organization, its members, or both (Robinson & Bennett, 1995). Although voluntary, it need not be volitional—it does not require intent to harm. Two forms have been described in the literature: interpersonal deviance and organizational deviance (Bennett & Robinson, 2000). Interpersonal deviance refers to behaviors targeting organization members (e.g., verbal abuse, sharing offensive jokes or comments, ethnic or racial slurs), whereas organizational deviance captures behaviors directed at the organization rather than at individuals (e.g., theft, drug use, intentional work slowdowns, and the like) (Robinson & Bennett, 1995). The interpersonal deviance domain encompasses a wide variety of behaviors, including but not