Happy Victimizers Among Business Students: How and Why Happy Victimizing Works at Work

• In Event: Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: Moral Education, Behavior, and Reasoning: Academic Misconduct and Victimization

Abstract

The paper discusses occurrences of the so-called "happy victimizer" phenomenon (HV) in adulthood, in particular in business-related contexts. So far, HV is, apart from a few exceptions, only known among 4- to 6-year-olds mainly. However, there are theoretical and empirical indications that HV may be observable among adults as well, in suitable situations. We report two studies that show that HV, indeed, is very salient, if the situational cues are geared towards it. Apart from the empirical evidence we also provide explanations for this effect that related to cognitive, emotional, and volitional aspects or moral functioning. Moreover, we highlight the educational implications of the data and the theoretical explanations and make suggestions as to what might be pedagogically appropriate.

Authors

• Gerhard Minnameier, University Frankfurt am Main

• Eveline Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger, Unviersity of Teacher Education of Lucerne, Switzerland

• Karin Heinrichs, University Frankfurt am Main

• Brigitte Latzko, University of Leipzig