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The virus of distrust: How one victim‐sensitive group member can affect the entire group's outcomes
Author(s) -
MagrawMickelson Zoe,
Süssenbach Philipp,
Gollwitzer Mario
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2832
Subject(s) - distrust , psychology , social psychology , affect (linguistics) , conscientiousness , group (periodic table) , personality , trait , big five personality traits , task (project management) , extraversion and introversion , communication , programming language , chemistry , management , organic chemistry , computer science , economics , psychotherapist
Victim sensitivity (VS) is a personality trait conceptualized as the expectation of being exploited by others. Previous research has shown that one highly victim‐sensitive group member can negatively impact the entire group's outcomes. In the present research, we investigate boundary conditions and mechanisms underlying this effect. Study 1 ( N = 134 individuals, 40 groups) shows that the VS score of the most victim‐sensitive group member negatively predicts a group's performance, particularly when the group's collective conscientiousness is high. Study 2 ( N = 135 individuals, 45 groups) shows that groups that include one (compared to no) victim‐sensitive group member perform worse, especially when the task is perceived as requiring mutual trust. Study 3 ( N = 234) confirms that expressing VS explicitly reduces cooperation within the group. These findings suggest that the virus of distrust can spread quickly and may have detrimental consequences for group performance and intragroup cooperation.