title: Catching rudeness is like catching a cold: The contagion effects of low-intensity negative behaviors.
abstract: In this article we offer a new perspective to the study of negative behavioral contagion in organizations. In 3 studies, we investigate the contagion effect of rudeness and the cognitive mechanism that explains this effect. Study 1 results show that low-intensity negative behaviors like rudeness can be contagious, and that this contagion effect can occur based on single episodes, that anybody can be a carrier, and that this contagion effect has second-order consequences for future interaction partners. In Studies 2 and 3 we explore in the laboratory the cognitive mechanism that underlies the negative behavioral contagion effect observed in Study 1. Specifically, we show that rudeness activates a semantic network of related concepts in individuals' minds, and that this activation influences individual's hostile behaviors. In sum, in these 3 studies we show that just like the common cold, common negative behaviors can spread easily and have significant consequences for people in organizations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Management, Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Florida.
authors.forename: Trevor
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3020-6566
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Foulk
authors.affiliation: Department of Management, Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Florida.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Woolum
authors.affiliation: Department of Management, Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Florida.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Erez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000378:Agonistic Behavior; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D055815:Young Adult