Incivility and Creativity in Teams: Examining the Role of Perpetrator Gender

• Published in: Journal of applied psychology Vol. 106; no. 4; pp. 560 - 581
• Main Authors: Motro, Daphna, Spoelma, Trevor M., Ellis, Aleksander P. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Psychological Association 01-04-2021
• Subjects: Antisocial Behavior; Creativity; Female; Gender; Human; Human Sex Differences; Incivility; Male; Perpetrators; Positive Emotions; Sex Roles; Teams; Test Construction; positive affect; teams; gender; creativity; incivility
• ISSN: 0021-9010; 1939-1854
• DOI: 10.1037/apl0000757

We conduct 3 experiments to examine how the effects of incivility on team creativity through team positive affect differ depending on the gender of the incivil team member. We argue that the incivil behavior of 1 team member decreases team positive affect, thereby decreasing team creativity. We then propose that the gender of the incivil team member plays a significant role in team member reactions. We draw on role congruity theory, which posits that individuals respond positively toward those whom they perceive as adhering to societal norms, and negatively to those who do not. Accordingly, we found that team positive affect decreased significantly when a woman behaved incivilly compared with when a man behaved incivilly due to the agentic and aggressive nature of the behavior. Lower team positive affect then decreased team creativity. Interestingly, team positive affect was not affected when a man behaved incivilly. We consider the implications of our work across several different literatures and discuss interesting directions for future research.