Peer Reporting of Unethical Behavior: A Social Context Perspective

Abstract

This research hypothesized that two social context conditions influence group members' evaluations of peer reporting of unethical behavior and their own inclination to report peers: the misconduct threatens the interests of group members and peer reporting is denned as a role responsibility of group members. Two scenario studies provided mixed support for the hypotheses, results differing in the two hypothetical settings. In both studies, however, when subjects perceived a peer reporter as highly ethical, they simultaneously evaluated him or her as unlikable. Results of a field survey provided some support for the generalizability of the findings to an actual work setting.