Does Rudeness Really Matter?: The Effects of Rudeness on Task Performance and Helpfulness

Academy of Management Journal, Forthcoming

52 Pages Posted: 16 May 2007

See all articles by Christine Porath

Christine Porath

University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business; Georgetown University - Department of Management

Amir Erez

University of Florida - Warrington College of Business Administration

Abstract

In three experimental studies, we provide an empirical test of how rudeness affects task performance and helpfulness. Different forms of rudeness (rudeness instigated by a direct authority figure, rudeness delivered by a third-party offender, and imagining a situation in which a perpetrator was rude) converged to produce the same effects. Results from these studies showed that rudeness reduced performance on routine tasks as well as creative tasks. We also found that rude behavior decreased helpfulness. We examined the processes that mediated the rudeness-performance relationship and found evidence that disruption to cognitive processes fully mediated the rudeness-performance relationship.

Keywords: rudeness, incivility, interpersonal dynamics, mistreatment, deviance, performance, helpfulness, cognition

Suggested Citation

Porath, Christine and Erez, Amir, Does Rudeness Really Matter?: The Effects of Rudeness on Task Performance and Helpfulness. Academy of Management Journal, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=986441

Christine Porath (Contact Author)

University of Southern California - Marshall School of Business ( email )

701 Exposition Blvd
Los Angeles, CA California 90089
United States

Georgetown University - Department of Management

3700 O Street, NW
Washington, NY 20057
United States

Amir Erez

University of Florida - Warrington College of Business Administration ( email )

Gainesville, FL 32611
United States

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