Contempt and Admiration at Work: Emotional and Behavioral Responses to Coworker Value Expression

Abstract

In this study, we integrate appraisal theories of emotion and values theory to examine contempt and admiration as emotional responses to coworker value expressions. At the same time, we examine their behavioral outcomes (i.e., incivility and emulation, respectively) and potential functionality. To test our hypotheses, we sampled 405 U.S. full-time workers through Amazon’s mechanical turk (MTurk) and employed an experimental design. Results from structural equation modeling find support to suggest that contempt and incivility are emotional and behavioral responses to coworker value-deficient behaviors and that admiration and emulation are emotional and behavioral responses to coworker value-exemplifying behaviors. At the same time, contempt mediated between coworker value-deficient behaviors and incivility, and admiration between coworker value-exemplifying behaviors and emulation. Further, our results suggest that all participants felt contempt in response to deficiency in self-transcendence values, regardless of their own value prioritizations, while only participants that highly prioritize self-enhancement values felt contempt towards deficiency in self-enhancement. Similarly, in general, all participants felt admiration towards behaviors exemplifying self-transcendence values, but those participants that highly prioritize self-transcendence felt even greater admiration for self-transcendence exemplification and less admiration for deficiency in self-transcendence. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.