Workplace aggression consists of harmful actions between co-workers, supervisors, and subordinates. In this series of studies, we draw from attachment theory and competitive personality to develop and test a mediated model of workplace aggression that incorporates relational working models (i.e., attachment style) with competitive orientation to predict aggressive intentions. Our results find that an avoidant attachment style caused by dissociative relational models promotes a preference for aggression through hypercompetitiveness, while other relational models fail to predict aggressive intentions. In addition, we test and incorporate a shortened scale of competitive orientation for greater accessibility in competitiveness studies.
AgrawalH. R.GundersonJ.HolmesB. M.Lyons-RuthK. (2004). Attachment studies with borderline patients: A review. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 12(2), 94–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/10673220490447218
2.
AinsworthM. D. S.BleharM. C.WaterE.WallS. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Erlbaum. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203758045
ArrigoB. A.GriffinA. (2004). Serial murder and the case of Aileen Wuornos: Attachment theory, psychopathy, and predatory aggression. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 22(3), 375–393. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.583
7.
BaldwinM.KeelanJ.FehrB.EnnsV.Koh-RangarajooE. (1996). Social cognitive conceptualization of attachment working models: Availability and accessibility effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(1), 94–109. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/1996-01782-007
BaronR. A.RichardsonD. R. (2004). Human aggression. Springer Science and Business Media.
10.
BartholomewK. (1990). Avoidance of intimacy: An attachment perspective. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 7(2), 147–178. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407590072001
11.
BartholomewK. (1993). From childhood to adult relationships: Attachment theory and research. In DuckS. W. (Ed.), Understand relationship processes 2: Learning about relationships. (pp. 30–62). Sage. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1993-98142-002
12.
BartholomewK.HorowitzL. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(2), 226–244. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/1991-33075-001
13.
BowlbyJ. (1978). Attachment theory and its therapeutic implications. Adolescent Psychiatry, 6, 5–33.
14.
BowlbyJ. (1994). The making and breaking of affectional bonds. Routledge. (Original work published 1979).
15.
BowlingN. A.BeehrT. A. (2006). Workplace harassment from the victim’s perspective: A theoretical model and meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(5), 998–1012. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0021-9010.91.5.998
16.
BrownS. P.CronW. L.SlocumJ. W.Jr. (1998). Effects of trait competitiveness and perceived intraorganizational competition on salesperson goal setting and performance. Journal of Marketing, 62, 88–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299806200407
17.
BuhrmesterM.KwangT.GoslingS. D. (2011). Amazon’s mechanical turk: A new source of inexpensive, yet high-quality, data?Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(1), 3–5. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/14805-009
18.
ChenX. P.XieX.ChangS. (2011). Cooperative and competitive orientation among Chinese people: Scale development and validation. Management and Organization Review, 7(2), 353–379. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8784.2011.00215.x
19.
CollinsN.ReadS. (1994). Cognitive representations of attachment: The structure and function of working models. In Attachment Processes in Adulthood (Vol. 5, pp. 53–90). Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
20.
CozolinoL. (2014). The neuroscience of human relationships: Attachment and the developing social brain. WW Norton and Company.
21.
CrawshawJ. R.GameA. (2015). The role of line managers in employee career management: An attachment theory perspective. International Journal of Human Resource Management Resource Management, 26(9), 1182–1203. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2014.934886
22.
DewitteL.GranqvistP.DezutterJ. (2019). Meaning through attachment: An integrative framework. Psychological Reports, 122(6), 2242–2265. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294118799739
23.
DillK. E.AndersonC. A.AndersonK. B.DeuserW. E. (1997). Effects of aggressive personality on social expectations and social perceptions. Journal of Research in Personality, 31(2), 272–292. https://doi.org/10.1006/jrpe.1997.2183
24.
DouglasS. C.MartinkoM. J. (2001). Exploring the role of individual differences in the prediction of workplace aggression. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(4), 547–559. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0021-9010.86.4.547
25.
DruV. (2003). Relationships between an ego orientation scale and a hypercompetitive scale: Their correlates with dogmatism and authoritarianism factors. Personality and Individual Differences, 35(7), 1509–1524. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00366-5
26.
DuttonD. G.WhiteK. R. (2012). Attachment insecurity and intimate partner violence. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 17(5), 475–481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2012.07.003
27.
DykmanB. M. (1998). Integrating cognitive and motivational factors in depression: Initial tests of a goal orientation approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(1), 139–158. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.74.1.139
28.
EinarsenS.HoelH.NotelaersG.Questionnaire-Revised (2009). Measuring exposure to bullying and harassment at work: Validity, factor structure and psychometric properties of the negative acts. Work and Stress, 23(1), 24–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370902815673
29.
FerrisD. L.YanM.LimV. K.ChenY.FatimahS. (2016). An approach–avoidance framework of workplace aggression. Academy of Management Journal, 59(5), 1777–1800. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2014.0221
30.
FezzeyT. N. A.SwabR. G. (2023), “How bad do you want it? A bibliometric review of individual competitiveness”, Journal of Management History, Vol.ahead-of-print.ahead-of-print No. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMH-03-2023-0016
31.
FletcherT. D.MajorD. A.DavisD. D. (2008). The interactive relationship of competitive climate and trait competitiveness with workplace attitudes, stress, and performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29(7), 899–922. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.503
32.
FletcherT. D.NusbaumD. N. (2008). Trait competitiveness as a composite variable: Linkages with facets of the big-five. Personality and Individual Differences, 45(4), 312–317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.04.020
33.
FrazierM. L.GootyJ.LittleL. M.NelsonD. L. (2015). Employee attachment: Implications for supervisor trustworthiness and trust. Journal of Business and Psychology, 30(2), 373–386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-014-9367-4
34.
GilbertP. (1989). Human nature and suffering. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
35.
GilbertP. (2005). Compassion: Conceptualisations, research and use in psychotherapy. Routledge.
36.
GilbertP.McEwanK.BellewR.MillsA.GaleC. (2009). The dark side of competition: How competitive behaviour and striving to avoid inferiority are linked to depression, anxiety, stress, and self harm. Psychology and Psychotherapy, 82(Pt 2), 123–136. https://doi.org/10.1348/147608308X379806
37.
GlambekM.MatthiesenS. B.HetlandJ.EinarsenS. (2014). Workplace bullying as an antecedent to job insecurity and intention to leave: A 6‐month prospective study. Human Resource Management Journal, 24(3), 255–268. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12035
38.
GlasøL.MatthiesenS. B.NielsenM. B.EinarsenS. (2007). Do targets of workplace bullying portray a general victim personality profile. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 48(4), 313–319. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9450.2007.00554.x
39.
GlombT. M.LiaoH. (2003). Interpersonal aggression in work groups: Social influence, reciprocal, and individual effects. Academy of Management Journal, 46(4), 486–496. https://doi.org/10.5465/30040640
HayesA. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford Press.
42.
HazanC.ShaverP. R. (1990). Love and work: An attachment-theoretical perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 270–280. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/1991-00927-001
43.
HelmreichR. L.SpenceJ. T.PredR. S. (1988). Making it without losing it: Type A, achievement motivation, and scientific attainment revisited. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 14(3), 495–504. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167288143008
44.
HershcovisM. S. (2011). “Incivility, social undermining, bullying…oh my!”: A call to reconcile constructs within workplace aggression research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32(3), 499–519. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.689
45.
HershcovisM. S.BarlingJ. (2010). Towards a multi‐foci approach to workplace aggression: A meta‐analytic review of outcomes from different perpetrators. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(1), 24–44. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.621
46.
HershcovisM. S.ReichT. C. (2013). Integrating workplace aggression research: Relational, contextual, and method considerations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(S1), S26–S42. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1886
47.
HershcovisM. S.TurnerN.BarlingJ.ArnoldK. A.DupréK. E.InnessM.LeBlancM. M.SivanathanN.SivanathanN. (2007). Predicting workplace aggression: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(1), 228–238. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2006-23339-018
48.
HoustonJ. M.McintireS. A.KinnieJ.TerryC. (2002). A factorial analysis of scales measuring competitiveness. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 62(2), 284–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164402062002006
49.
HumphreyT.VaillancourtT. (2021). Longitudinal relations between hypercompetitiveness, jealousy, and aggression across adolescence. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 67(3), 237–268. https://doi.org/10.13110/merrpalmquar1982.67.3.0237
50.
IrvineT. J.AultsC. D.MenonM. (2023). Self-Esteem Moderates the Relationship Between Secure Attachment and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems in Preadolescence. Psychological Reports, 126(2), 758–774.
51.
KafetsiosK.AthanasiadouM.DimouN. (2014). Leaders’ and subordinates’ attachment orientations, emotion regulation capabilities and affect at work: A multilevel analysis. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(3), 512–527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2013.11.010
52.
KlettnerA. M.LuoS.TineJ. (2020). Cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions to snooping: The role of attachment characteristics. Psychological Reports, 123(6), 2147–2172. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294119860259
LianH.Lance FerrisD.BrownD. J. (2012). Does taking the good with the bad make things worse? How abusive supervision and leader–member exchange interact to impact need satisfaction and organizational deviance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 117(1), 41–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2011.10.003
55.
LiangL. H.LianH.BrownD. J.FerrisD. L.HanigS.KeepingL. M. (2016). Why are abusive supervisors abusive? A dual-system self-control model. Academy of Management Journal, 59(4), 1385–1406. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2014.0651
56.
LittleL. M.NelsonD. L.WallaceJ. C.JohnsonP. D. (2011). Integrating attachment style, vigor at work, and extra-role performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32(3), 464–484. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.709
57.
Løkke VieT.GlasøL.EinarsenS. (2010). Does trait anger, trait anxiety or organisational position moderate the relationship between exposure to negative acts and self-labelling as a victim of workplace bullying?Nordic Psychology, 62(3), 67–79. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1027/1901-2276/a000017
58.
LongE. C.ChristianM. S. (2015). Mindfulness buffers retaliatory responses to injustice: A regulatory approach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(5), 1409–1422. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000019
59.
LopezF. G.BrennanK. A. (2000). Dynamic processes underlying adult attachment organization: Toward an attachment theoretical perspective on the healthy and effective self. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47(3), 283–300. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2000-00028-001
60.
MadsenM. C.ShapiraA. (1970). Cooperative and competitive behavior of urban Afro-American, Anglo-American, Mexican-American, and Mexican village children. Developmental Psychology, 3(1), 16–20. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/h0029407
61.
MarksI. M. (1987). Fears, phobias, and rituals: Panic, anxiety, and their disorders. Oxford University Press on Demand.
62.
MartinkoM. J.HarveyP.SikoraD.DouglasS. C. (2011). Perceptions of abusive supervision: The role of subordinates’ attribution styles. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(4), 751–764. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2011.05.013
63.
MayerD. M.ThauS.WorkmanK. M.DijkeM. V.CremerD. D. (2012). Leader mistreatment, employee hostility, and deviant behaviors: Integrating self-uncertainty and thwarted needs perspectives on deviance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 117(1), 24–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2011.07.003
MikulincerM. (1998). Adult attachment style and individual differences in functional versus dysfunctional experiences of anger. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(2), 513–524. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.74.2.513
66.
MikulincerM.FlorianV. (1998). The relationship between adult attachment styles and emotional and cognitive relationships to stressful events. In SimpsonJ. A.RholesW. S. (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 143–165). Guilford Press.
67.
MikulincerM.ShaverP. R. (2007). Boosting attachment security to promote mental health, prosocial values, and inter-group tolerance. Psychological Inquiry, 18(3), 139–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/10478400701512646
68.
MikulincerM.ShaverP. R. (2008). Adult attachment and affect regulation. In CassidyJ.ShaverP. R. (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 503–531). Guilford Press.
69.
MikulincerM.ShaverP. R.PeregD. (2003). Attachment theory and affect regulation: The dynamics, development, and cognitive consequences of attachment-related strategies. Motivation and Emotion, 27(2), 77–102. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1024515519160
70.
MilamA. C.SpitzmuellerC.PenneyL. M. (2009). Investigating individual differences among targets of workplace incivility. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14(1), 58–69. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0012683
71.
MizenR.MorrisM. (2006). On aggression and violence: An analytic perspective. Macmillan International Higher Education.
MurayamaK.ElliotA. J. (2012). The competition–performance relation: A meta-analytic review and test of the opposing processes model of competition and performance. Psychological Bulletin, 138(6), 1035–1070. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028324
74.
NielsenM. B.MatthiesenS. B.EinarsenS. (2010). The impact of methodological moderators on prevalence rates of workplace bullying. A meta‐analysis. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83(4), 955–979. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317909X481256
75.
PachecoE. C.BártoloA.RodriguesF.PereiraA.DuarteJ. C.SilvaC. F. (2021). Impact of psychological aggression at the workplace on employees’ health: A systematic review of personal outcomes and prevention strategies. Psychological Reports, 124(3), 929–976. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294119875598
76.
ParkinsI. S.FishbeinH. D.RitcheyP. N. (2006). The influence of personality on workplace bullying and discrimination. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 36(10), 2554–2577. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-9029.2006.00117.x
77.
PinquartM. (2023). Associations of Self-Esteem With Attachment to Parents: A Meta-Analysis. Psychological Reports, 126(5), 2101–2118. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941221079732
78.
QuickJ. C.JoplinJ. R.NelsonD. L.MangelsdorffA. D.FiedlerE. (1996). Self-reliance and military service training outcomes. Military Psychology, 8(4), 279–293. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327876mp0804_2
79.
QuickJ. C.JoplinJ. R.NelsonD. L.QuickJ. D. (1992). Behavioral responses to anxiety: Self-reliance, counterdependence, and overdependence. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 5(1), 41–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615809208250486
80.
RichardsD. A.HackettR. D. (2012). Attachment and emotion regulation: Compensatory interactions and leader–member exchange. The Leadership Quarterly, 23(4), 686–701. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2012.03.005
81.
RichardsD. A.SchatA. C. (2011). Attachment at (not to) work: Applying attachment theory to explain individual behavior in organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(1), 169–182. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/a0020372
82.
RizzutoA. M.MeissnerW. W.BuieD. H. (2004). The dynamics of human aggression: Theoretical foundations, clinical applications. Routledge.
83.
RyckmanR. M.HammerM.KaczorL. M.GoldJ. A. (1990). Construction of a hypercompetitive attitude scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 55(3–4), 630–639. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.1990.9674097
84.
RyckmanR. M.HammerM.KaczorL. M.GoldJ. A. (1996). Construction of a personal development competitive attitude scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 66(2), 374–385. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa6602_15
85.
RyckmanR. M.LibbyC. R.van den BorneB.GoldJ. A.LindnerM. A. (1997). Values of hypercompetitive and personal development competitive individuals. Journal of Personality Assessment, 69(2), 271–283. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa6902_2
86.
RyckmanR. M.ThorntonB.GoldJ. A. (2009). Assessing competition avoidance as a basic personality dimension. Journal of Psychology, 143(2), 175–192. https://doi.org/10.3200/JRLP.143.2.175-192
87.
RyckmanR. M.ThorntonB.GoldJ. A.BurckleM. A. (2002). Romantic relationships of hypercompetitive individuals. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 21(5), 517–530. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.21.5.517.22619
88.
SampsonE. E. (1988). The debate on individualism: Indigenous psychologies of the individual and their role in personal and societal functioning. American Psychologist, 43(1), 15–22. https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/1988-16899-001
89.
ScrimaF.Di StefanoG.GuarnacciaC.LoritoL. (2015). The impact of adult attachment style on organizational commitment and adult attachment in the workplace. Personality and Individual Differences, 86, 432–437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.07.013
90.
ShaverP.CollinsN.ClarkC. (1996). Attachment styles and internal working models of self and relationship partners. In GarthJ. O.FitnessJ. (Eds.), Knowledge structures in close relationships: A social psychological approach (pp. 25–61). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1995-99111-002
91.
SibleyC. G.WilsonM. S.DuckittJ. (2007). Effects of dangerous and competitive worldviews on right‐wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation over a five‐month period. Political Psychology, 28(3), 357–371. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9221.2007.00572.x
92.
SimmonsB. L.NelsonD. L.QuickJ. C. (2003). Health for the hopeful: A study of attachment behavior in home health care nurses. International Journal of Stress Management, 10(4), 361–375. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/1072-5245.10.4.361
93.
SkarlickiD. P.FolgerR. (1997). Retaliation in the workplace: The roles of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(3), 434–443. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0021-9010.82.3.434
94.
SkarlickiD. P.FolgerR.TeslukP. (1999). Personality as a moderator in the relationship between fairness and retaliation. Academy of Management Journal, 42(1), 100–108. https://doi.org/10.5465/256877
SpectorP. E.FoxS. (2005). The stressor-emotion model of counterproductive work behavior. In FoxS.SpectorP. E. (Eds.), Counterproductive work behavior: Investigations of actors and targets (pp. 151–174). American Psychological Association.
97.
SpenceJ. T.HelmreichR. L. (1983). Achievement-related motives and behaviors. In SpenceJ. L. (Ed.), Achievement and related motives. Freeman.
98.
SpielbergerC. D. (1991). State-trait anger expression inventory: Revised research edition. Psychological Assessment Resources.
99.
StoutenJ.BaillienE.Van den BroeckA.CampsJ.De WitteH.EuwemaM. (2010). Discouraging bullying: The role of ethical leadership and its effects on the work environment. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(S1), 17–27. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-011-0797-x
100.
SwabR. G.GalvanJ. M.SherlockC. (2022). The Relationship Between Trait Competitiveness and Competitive Attitudes: The Moderating Effect of Core Self-Evaluation. Psychological Reports, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941221138469
101.
SwabR. G.JohnsonP. D. (2019). Steel sharpens steel: A review of multilevel competition and competitiveness in organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(2), 147–165. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2340
102.
ThorntonB.RyckmanR. M.GoldJ. A. (2011). Playing dumb and knowing it all: Competitive orientation and impression management strategies. Psychology, 2(5), 411–415. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2011.25064
103.
VandeWalleD. (1997). Development and validation of a work domain goal orientation instrument. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 57(6), 995–1015. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164497057006009
104.
VolkA. A.Della CioppaV.EarleM.FarrellA. H. (2015). Social competition and bullying: An adaptive socioecological perspective. In Evolutionary perspectives on social psychology (pp. 387–399). Springer International Publishing.
105.
WuC. H.ParkerS. K. (2017). The role of leader support in facilitating proactive work behavior: A perspective from attachment theory. Journal of Management, 43(4), 1025–1049. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314544745
106.
WuC. H.ParkerS. K.De JongJ. P. (2014). Feedback seeking from peers: A positive strategy for insecurely attached team-workers. Human Relations, 67(4), 441–464. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726713496124
107.
YavuzerY.AlbayrakG.KılıçarslanS. (2019). Relationships amongst aggression, self- theory, loneliness, and depression in emerging adults. Psychological Reports, 122(4), 1235–1258. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294118784866
108.
YipJ.EhrhardtK.BlackH.WalkerD. O. (2018). Attachment theory at work: A review and directions for future research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 39(2), 185–198. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2204
