Why Seemingly Trivial Events Sometimes Evoke Strong Emotional Reactions: The Role of Social Exchange Rule Violations

Overview

Journal J Soc Psychol

Publisher Routledge

Specialty Psychology

Date 2015 Sep 3

PMID 26331429

Citations 1

Authors

Mark R Leary

Kate J Diebels

Katrina P Jongman-Sereno

Xuan Duong Fernandez

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

People sometimes display strong emotional reactions to events that appear disproportionate to the tangible magnitude of the event. Although previous work has addressed the role that perceived disrespect and unfairness have on such reactions, this study examined the role of perceived social exchange rule violations more broadly. Participants (N = 179) rated the effects of another person's behavior on important personal outcomes, the degree to which the other person had violated fundamental rules of social exchange, and their reactions to the event. Results showed that perceptions of social exchange rule violations accounted for more variance in participants' reactions than the tangible consequences of the event. The findings support the hypothesis that responses that appear disproportionate to the seriousness of the eliciting event are often fueled by perceived rule violations that may not be obvious to others.

Citing Articles

Incidence and prevalence of violence toward health care workers in emergency departments: a multicenter cross-sectional survey.

Alshahrani M, Alfaisal R, Alshahrani K, Alotaibi L, Alghoraibi H, Alghamdi E Int J Emerg Med. 2021; 14(1):71.

PMID: 34906080 PMC: 8903599. DOI: 10.1186/s12245-021-00394-1.

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