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

The Impact of Rudeness on Medical Team Performance: A Randomized Trial

“…Specifically, the expert told participants that he had already observed a number of groups from other hospitals in Israel, and compared with the participants observed elsewhere, he was "not impressed with the quality of medicine in Israel." This manipulation was designed to be similar to 1 previously tested among students in a psychology laboratory 20 and was specifically scripted to avoid making any reference to the participants' competence or performance. In the control condition, the expert mentioned that he had observed other professionals but did not insult the broader group to which the participants likely identify (ie, Israeli medical professionals).…”

“…However, psychologists have shown that the rudeness source fails to moderate its deleterious effects on performance. 20,21 Using a simulation-based experiment, we explored the impact of rudeness on the performance of NICU team members. Our hypothesis was that interrelating processes essential for collaboration are adversely affected when medical professionals are victims of others' rudeness, thus impairing members' diagnostic and procedural performance and heightening iatrogenic risk.…”

“…Such randomization procedures are common in social science research in general and incivility research in particular. 20,21 Randomization was stratified according to unit and hospital and was based on a sample size calculation of 10 to 11 teams per condition. Randomization was performed by a research assistant.…”

“…Analysis of variance with rudeness condition as the independent variable and perceived rudeness (assessed on the basis of a 4-item measure validated in previous research 20,21,25 and with a = .93) as the dependent variable indicated that participants rated the confederate as significantly (F [1,70] = 93.76, P , .01) more rude in the rudeness condition (3.24 6 1.14) than in the control condition (1.21 6 0.43). This finding confirmed that the rudeness manipulation was effective.…”

Thinking about You: Perspective Taking, Perceived Restraint, and Performance

“…In work organizations, experiencing and witnessing these negative interpersonal events can undermine task performance (Porath & Erez, 2007;2009) as well as organization members' willingness to cooperate with the individuals responsible for causing pain (Pearson & Porath, 2009;Turillo, Folger, Lavelle, Umphress, and Gee, 2002). In addition, these negative interactions not only reduce job satisfaction, job involvement, and employee's intentions to stay but also affect health outcomes (e.g., depression, psychosomatic symptoms, and insomnia, Crossley, 2009;Duffy et al, 2006;Greenberg, 2010).…”