Student Incivility Factors that Affect Conflict

◦ Perceptions◦ Emotion◦ Communication

Incivility in Academia Faculty Incivility & Bullying Interventions

STUDENT INCIVILITY IN THE COLLEGE CLASSROOM FROM A FACULTY PERSPECTIVE: RACE AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PERCEPTION, ATTRIBUTION, EFFECT, AND RESPONSE

Mary Chavez Rudolph, 2005Doctoral Dissertation

sleeping in class prolonged chattering excessive lateness poor personal hygiene overt inattentiveness eating, drinking, gum

chewing, smoking carrying pagers and

beepers passing notes

unexcused exits from class

verbal or physical threats to students or faculty

disputing the instructor’s authority and expertise

Incivility by one student or by many students has the potential to severely compromise the effectiveness of the classroom instruction and learning.

“In related studies, where I tracked new faculty longer, these traumatic events (CI) [Classroom Incivility] and resulting impressions of undergraduates as adversaries were among the few early turning points that derailed careers.”

(Boice, 1998)

Nature of Students◦ Student Mental Health◦ Consumer Attitude◦ Student Learning vs. Faculty Teaching

Nature of Society, the Classroom, the Course◦ Incivility in Society◦ Informality of Organizations◦ Large Classrooms

Instructor Behaviors

Increasing ethnic and gender diversity of students and instructors, and that SI and conflict is a reflection of cultural differences.

What are the different perspectives of the parties in this situation? How does this affect this conflict?

How is emotion affecting this conflict?

How is communication affecting this conflict?

Perceptions◦ Identity, History

Emotion

Communication

“…conflict lies not in objective reality, but in people’s heads.” Fisher and Ury, 1991

Check out Assumptions◦ Put yourself in their shoes◦ Ask / Discuss

Perceptual Errors

Emotion and (is) Motivation◦ Both move us in some way, as implied by the

common Latin root of both words (movere, to move). Brian Parkinson and Andrew M. Colman, 1995

◦ Emotions are often precursors of motivational phenomena. Oatley, 1992

“Emotion as Insight” Jones & Brinkert, 2008

Managing Emotion

Timing and Setting Active Listening Open-ended questions I language Limit-Setting Issue Consequences

DEFINING “INCIVILITY”

“Civility” – concern, regard, and respect“Behavior that helps to preserve the norms

for mutual respect at work.”

“Incivility” – rudeness, disregard, and mistreatment

Andersson and Wegner (2001)

Norms for the organization erode Spiraling and Cascading

“Incivility goes unchecked and can escalate leading to a chain of more aggressive, coercive behaviors possibly leading to violence.”

Pearson, Andersson, and Porath, 2000

Unique Factors

Culture of Critique

Student Development

Tenure and Rewards for Faculty

Department Chair (Head) Role

Unique Factors

Funding

Free Speech/Academic Freedom

Free Speech/Right of Dissent

Conflict Avoidant Culture

Not So Unique Factors

Physical Separation External and Internal Customer Service

Challenges Evaluative Relationships Peer/Colleague Relationships

Susan and George

Definition of Workplace Bullying: 

◦ Workplace Bullying is repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators that takes the forms of: verbal abuse, offensive conduct/behaviors (including nonverbal) which are threatening, humiliating or intimidating, and/or work interference -- sabotage -- which prevents work from getting done.

(Workplace Bullying Institute)

Threat to professional status (e.g., belittling opinion, public professional humiliation, accusation regarding lack of effort); Threat to personal standing(e.g., name-calling, insults, intimidation, devaluing withreference to age); Isolation (e.g., preventing access to opportunities, physical or social isolation, withholding of information); Overwork (e.g., undue pressure, impossible deadlines, unnecessary disruptions);Destabilization (e.g., failure to give credit when due, meaningless tasks, removal of responsibility, repeated reminders of blunders, setting up to fail).

(Rayner, Charlotte, 1997)

Bullies 50% men / 50% women

81% of bullies are bosses

14% peers, or co-workers

5% bully a higher ranking target

Targets

Women are the majority of targets (3/4 of all)

Men bully women in 69% of the cases / women bully women 84% of the time

Rank Health Item1 Anxiety, stress, excessive worry

2 Disrupted sleep / Exhaustion

3 Loss of Concentration4 Feeling edgy, irritable, easily startled, on guard (paranoia)

5 Obsession over details of bully’s tactics

6 Stress Headaches

7 Racing Heart Rate

8 Diagnosed Depression

42% of the cases - perpetrator’s immediate bosses directly helped the Bully or punished the complaining Target

40% of the cases - Bullies’ managers did nothing to intervene (tacit support)

32 % of the cases - HR supported the Bully or did nothing (51% of the cases)

11% of the cases - the Target’s co-workers sided with the Bully

7% of the cases - negative sanctions against the bully (censure, transfer, or termination)

United States In the U.S. the law is attentive to harassment or

discrimination when it relates to sex and race (Title VII).

U.S. Courts have consistently ruled that rude and even abusive behavior does not violate federal EEO laws unless it is directed at an individual (or group of individuals) because of his or her race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age or disability.

The “equal opportunity harasser” defense.

Awareness raising Policy or code - gives victims the

confidence to seek redress and reduce the benefit/cost balance for those tempted to bully others

Anger and frustration management for bullies

Work w/individuals – assertiveness training, make changes in the structure (physical space, reporting, etc.), conflict management, mediation

Training to encourage intervention

Training to identify options for bystanders

Encourage the identification and discussion of unacceptable behavior

Goals and Interests

Strategies

Conflict Styles

Communication

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs◦Physiological◦Security◦Social ◦Esteem◦Self-Actualization

Generate Options

Identify Pros and Cons

Evaluate Options based on Goals & Interests

Most people have one or two preferred styles of responding to conflict

Thomas and Kilmann developed an instrument to help people determine their preferred style

Utilization of a particular style should be situation-dependent

How to set up an environment that is respectful or turn a disrespectful environment around…

What do you want?◦ What respectful behaviors do you want to

increase? 3-4 minutes brainstorms