Do you have people in your workplace who are always on the ‘right’ side? Who always do good? Who set the standards for ‘good’ way higher than you expected?
Well, then…. here are some startling findings. This goodness may actually backfire! Latest research says that highly cooperative and generous people can attract hatred, especially in competitive circumstances.
According to a new study by the University of Guelph, Canada, cooperative and generous people can attract hatred and social punishment, especially in competitive conditions.
“Most of the time we like the co-operators, the good guys. We like it when the bad guys get their comeuppance, and when non-cooperators are punished.” Psychology professor Pat Barclay said in a recently concluded study.
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He further added, “But some of the time, cooperators are the ones that get punished. People will hate on the really good guys. This pattern has been found in every culture in which it has been looked at.”
The study, published in the journal Psychological Science and conducted by Barclay and undergraduate student Aleta Pleasant, found that cooperative behaviour attracted punishment most often in groups whose members compete with each other.
Humans are complex creatures. In environments which are competitive, like corporate set ups, the chances of these underplays being openly practiced are high. Being suspicious, jealous or hostile toward those who seem better or nicer or holier than us appears to run deep in the psychological makeup of humans, said the study.
Another important element of the study focused on the fact that people who do nothing for the environmental risk damaging their reputation and may instead choose to attack the motives of environmentalists.
It is a way of bringing such people back to track and stop them from creating social inequality.
In a lot of societies, people defend their social status by bringing down the other person. This ‘other person’ could be a potential threat to them, a probable superior clause attached.
The report further added, ‘You can imagine within an organisation today the attitude, ‘Hey, you’re working too hard and making the rest of us look bad.’ In some organizations people are known for policing how hard others work, to make sure no one is raising the bar from what is expected.’
An interesting take on the ever changing physiological frameworks of the society.