WEBVTT - Why Is Rudeness So Contagious?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Bogle bam here. Let's say someone

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<v Speaker 1>cuts you off on the highway, so you flip him

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<v Speaker 1>the bird. You're mad and now he's mad. You both

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<v Speaker 1>get to where you're going and snap. But you're unsuspecting friends, family,

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<v Speaker 1>or colleagues, who in turn flings some vitriol at others,

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<v Speaker 1>and so the cycle continues. Rudeness is unpleasant, but it's

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<v Speaker 1>also highly contagious and can affect your physical and mental health.

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<v Speaker 1>That's according to Danny Wallace, author of f You Very Much,

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<v Speaker 1>Understanding the Culture of Rudeness and What we can Do

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<v Speaker 1>about it. Before the article this episode is based on

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<v Speaker 1>HOS to Work, spoke with Wallace. He said, when someone

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<v Speaker 1>has been truly rude to you and broken the rules

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<v Speaker 1>of civilty, it's very confusing, which is one reason why

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<v Speaker 1>people can't think of anything witty to say in the

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<v Speaker 1>moment as a retort and big as you've been disrespected,

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<v Speaker 1>you're trying to claw back some of that respect somehow.

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<v Speaker 1>This is why Wallace said, you keep replaying incidents of

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<v Speaker 1>rudeness over and over in your head, particularly when you

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<v Speaker 1>didn't make the perfect comeback at the time, and rudeness

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<v Speaker 1>is contagious, he notes in an article published in the

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<v Speaker 1>January issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology, researchers cited

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<v Speaker 1>three separate studies that showed that if someone was rude

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<v Speaker 1>to you, you were more likely to behave uncivilly towards

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<v Speaker 1>someone else. So if you were cut off driving to

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<v Speaker 1>work later, you might open an email from a colleague

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<v Speaker 1>that asks will you be at today's meeting and feel

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<v Speaker 1>they're implying that you're going to skip it without a

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<v Speaker 1>good reason. Even if you merely witnessed a rude interaction

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<v Speaker 1>between two strangers, you became more likely to be nasty

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<v Speaker 1>to someone else. Rudeness affects your brains frontal lobes, the

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<v Speaker 1>area responsible for working memory, and those feelings can make

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<v Speaker 1>your work stuff. Her research shows that your creativity and

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<v Speaker 1>job performance knows dive when someone is nasty to you.

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<v Speaker 1>That's because rudeness is emotionally draining. One of the most

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<v Speaker 1>chilling aspects of uncivil behavior is that it can affect

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<v Speaker 1>health and safety. Wallace says that a study on surgeons

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<v Speaker 1>in Israel showed that rudeness made them fifty less effective.

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<v Speaker 1>They didn't communicate well, picked up the wrong instruments, and

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<v Speaker 1>missed changes that affected their initial diagnosis. Despite this alarming intel,

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<v Speaker 1>there is hope the workplace rudeness can be addressed through

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<v Speaker 1>plans of actions set up by management. In fact, some

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<v Speaker 1>scientists are working on a rudeness fact scene for doctors,

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<v Speaker 1>a video game that they could play when they come

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<v Speaker 1>to work to take a breath and reset their minds.

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<v Speaker 1>The simple awareness of incivilities contagion can help you monitor

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<v Speaker 1>your own behavior so that you don't pass it on.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article why Rudeness is

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<v Speaker 1>so Compagious on How stuff Works dot com, written by

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<v Speaker 1>Melanie Redzii McManus. For more from Danny Wallace about rudeness,

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<v Speaker 1>check out the podcast Part Time Genius. They interviewed Wallace

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<v Speaker 1>for an episode titled Are We in the Middle of

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<v Speaker 1>a Rudeness Epidemic? Rain Stuff is production of by Heart

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<v Speaker 1>Radio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>produced by Tyler Clain. Four more podcasts from my Heart Radio,

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