If you don’t have anything nice to say, it might be okay to say it anyway, new research suggests. We deal with rude people all the time, and responding in a civil way is still the best option, but people may not judge you for snapping back to disrespectful behavior. According to a new study from Cornell University, context makes all the difference and sometimes, it’s just fine to respond rudely to someone who treated you or your team that way.
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Previous research into rude behavior focused on how it’s bad for morale and productivity, and can trigger cycles of retaliation, but the new study looks at how people evaluate behavior once rudeness is already part of the interaction. The five experiments involving 850 participants show that people are more accepting of rudeness when it’s used to respond to rudeness, not provoke conflict.
Scientists stress that their findings don’t condone bad behavior, but highlight that when someone instigates by being rude others see it as “more right, just and moral” to be rude right back. “There’s more social value in being civil, but there can be social value in acting uncivilly, provided that it’s retaliatory,” explains study author and Cornell professor Merrick Osbourne. “Their incivility almost gives you license to match their energy. So if that’s what your heart is calling you to do, you can answer the call.”
Source: Newsweek
