Dominance Without Status: The Social Trade-Offs of Bullying

Why do adults engage in bullying despite its moral and social risks? Whereas prior research frames bullying as a strategic behavior, little is known about its social consequences for the bullies, specifically, how observers perceive bullies. Through two experimental studies (N₁ = 183; N₂ = 375), we examined how workplace bullying shapes perceptions of dominance, status, and competence in competitive versus non-competitive contexts. Participants evaluated each context in vignettes where a bully either succeeded (unchallenged aggression), failed (victim confronts the aggression), or engaged in neutral interaction. Results showed that successful bullying attempts significantly increased perceived dominance, while perceived status remained unchanged. In contrast, failed bullying attempts significantly reduced perceived status without influencing perceptions of dominance. Notably, perceived competence decreased regardless of whether the bullying attempt was successful. Additionally, participants did not distinguish between Competitive and Non-Competitive context conditions in their evaluations. Our findings demonstrate that while bullying may be an effective strategy for gaining dominance, it carries reputational trade-offs, including diminished perceptions of competence, warmth, morality, and a potential risk to social status. These findings offer insight into how observers perceive bullying behavior and may help explain why workplace bullying persists.