Incivility within organizations is a rampant problem with dire consequences,including adverse effects on both job satisfaction and psychological states. This study was conducted to address the gap in the current literature that looks at incivility within organizations. To date, no studies have assessed the impact of bottom-up incivility (i.e., incivility that is directed from subordinates to supervisors) on supervisor targets. Thus, this study investigated the impact of bottom-up forms of incivility of supervisors’ mental and physical states, as well as their levels of job satisfaction. However, due to small sample sizes, the current research was expanded to address the effects of both bottom-up incivility and other forms of incivility (i.e., peer-to-peer and superior-to-subordinate). As a result, the study consisted of two samples: bottom-up targets (N = 19) and targets of all forms of incivility (N = 89). In the bottom-up sample, results showed that instances of bottom-up incivility are a significant predictor of lower levels of job satisfaction. In the sample of targets of all forms of incivility, the results indicated that incivility was a significant predictor of lower levels of mental health. In the sample of targets of all forms of incivility, hierarchical regression analyses also showed that the effects of incivility on physical health were mediated by mental health.
","abstract_html":"<p>Incivility within organizations is a rampant problem with dire consequences,including adverse effects on both job satisfaction and psychological states. This study was conducted to address the gap in the current literature that looks at incivility within organizations. To date, no studies have assessed the impact of bottom-up incivility (i.e., incivility that is directed from subordinates to supervisors) on supervisor targets. Thus, this study investigated the impact of bottom-up forms of incivility of supervisors’ mental and physical states, as well as their levels of job satisfaction. However, due to small sample sizes, the current research was expanded to address the effects of both bottom-up incivility and other forms of incivility (i.e., peer-to-peer and superior-to-subordinate). As a result, the study consisted of two samples: bottom-up targets (N = 19) and targets of all forms of incivility (N = 89). In the bottom-up sample, results showed that instances of bottom-up incivility are a significant predictor of lower levels of job satisfaction. In the sample of targets of all forms of incivility, the results indicated that incivility was a significant predictor of lower levels of mental health. In the sample of targets of all forms of incivility, hierarchical regression analyses also showed that the effects of incivility on physical health were mediated by mental health.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Meador, Abby"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Department of Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Anthony Paquin (Director), Dr. Jacqueline Pope-Tarrence, Dr. Sarah Ostrowski"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:02Z","subjects":["workplace violence","organizational climate","job satisfaction","workplace deviance","counterproductive work behaviors","psychological health","communication in organizations","Industrial and Organizational Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1047","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Anthony Paquin (Director), Dr. Jacqueline Pope-Tarrence, Dr. Sarah Ostrowski"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Meador, Abby"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["workplace violence","organizational climate","job satisfaction","workplace deviance","counterproductive work behaviors","psychological health","communication in organizations","Industrial and Organizational Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1047"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Incivility within organizations is a rampant problem with dire consequences,including adverse effects on both job satisfaction and psychological states. This study was conducted to address the gap in the current literature that looks at incivility within organizations. To date, no studies have assessed the impact of bottom-up incivility (i.e., incivility that is directed from subordinates to supervisors) on supervisor targets. Thus, this study investigated the impact of bottom-up forms of incivility of supervisors’ mental and physical states, as well as their levels of job satisfaction. However, due to small sample sizes, the current research was expanded to address the effects of both bottom-up incivility and other forms of incivility (i.e., peer-to-peer and superior-to-subordinate). As a result, the study consisted of two samples: bottom-up targets (N = 19) and targets of all forms of incivility (N = 89). In the bottom-up sample, results showed that instances of bottom-up incivility are a significant predictor of lower levels of job satisfaction. In the sample of targets of all forms of incivility, the results indicated that incivility was a significant predictor of lower levels of mental health. In the sample of targets of all forms of incivility, hierarchical regression analyses also showed that the effects of incivility on physical health were mediated by mental health.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Minor Incidents with Major Impacts: The Effects of Bottom-up Incivility on Supervisor Targets"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Anthony Paquin (Director), Dr. Jacqueline Pope-Tarrence, Dr. Sarah Ostrowski"],"dc:creator":["Meador, Abby"],"dc:description.abstract":["Incivility within organizations is a rampant problem with dire consequences,including adverse effects on both job satisfaction and psychological states. This study was conducted to address the gap in the current literature that looks at incivility within organizations. To date, no studies have assessed the impact of bottom-up incivility (i.e., incivility that is directed from subordinates to supervisors) on supervisor targets. Thus, this study investigated the impact of bottom-up forms of incivility of supervisors’ mental and physical states, as well as their levels of job satisfaction. However, due to small sample sizes, the current research was expanded to address the effects of both bottom-up incivility and other forms of incivility (i.e., peer-to-peer and superior-to-subordinate). As a result, the study consisted of two samples: bottom-up targets (N = 19) and targets of all forms of incivility (N = 89). In the bottom-up sample, results showed that instances of bottom-up incivility are a significant predictor of lower levels of job satisfaction. In the sample of targets of all forms of incivility, the results indicated that incivility was a significant predictor of lower levels of mental health. In the sample of targets of all forms of incivility, hierarchical regression analyses also showed that the effects of incivility on physical health were mediated by mental health.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1047"],"dc:subject":["workplace violence","organizational climate","job satisfaction","workplace deviance","counterproductive work behaviors","psychological health","communication in organizations","Industrial and Organizational Psychology"],"dc:title":["Minor Incidents with Major Impacts: The Effects of Bottom-up Incivility on Supervisor Targets"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Psychology"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:02Z"}