Passive-aggressive behavior

{{further|Passive–aggressive personality disorder}}

In psychology, "passive-aggression" is one of the most misused psychological terms. After some debate, the American Psychiatric Association dropped it from the list of personality disorders in the DSM IV as too narrow to be a full-blown diagnosis and not well enough supported by scientific evidence to meet increasingly rigorous standards of definition. Culturally, the ambiguous "passive-aggressive" label is misused by laymen and professionals alike. The removal of the passive-aggressive personality definition from the official diagnostic manual was in large measure because of the frequent misapplication and because of the often contradictory and unclear descriptions clinicians in the field provided. Most of the definitions which follow (which had previously been classified as passive-aggressive) are often more correctly described as overt aggression or covert aggression.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

The outdated definition rejected by the American Psychiatric Association is as follows: Passive-aggressive behavior is characterized by a habitual pattern of non-active resistance to expected work requirements, opposition, sullenness, stubbornness, and negative attitudes in response to requirements for normal performance levels expected by others. Most frequently it occurs in the workplace, where resistance is exhibited by indirect behaviors such as procrastination, forgetfulness, and purposeful inefficiency, especially in reaction to demands by authority figures, but it can also occur in interpersonal contexts.{{cite book|last=American Psychiatric Association|title=Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV|year=2000|publisher=American Psychiatic Association|location=Washington, DC|isbn=978-0890420621|pages=[https://archive.org/details/diagnosticstatis00amer_0/page/733 733]–734|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/diagnosticstatis00amer_0}}

Another source characterizes passive-aggressive behavior as: A personality trait marked by a pervasive pattern of negative attitudes and characterized by passive, sometimes obstructionist resistance to complying with expectations in interpersonal or occupational situations. This includes behaviors such as condescension, belittling, snubbing, subtly insulting insinuations, contrarianism, procrastination, stubbornness, sabotage, the silent treatment, victim playing, sarcasm, resentment, sullenness, or deliberate/repeated failure to accomplish requested tasks for which one is often explicitly responsible.{{Cite web|url=http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Passive–aggressive%20personality%20disorder-diagnostic%20criteria|title=Passive–aggressive personality disorder-diagnostic criteria}}

In conflict theory, passive-aggressive behavior can resemble a behavior better described as catty, as it consists of deliberate, active, but carefully veiled hostile acts which are distinctively different in character from the non-assertive style of passive resistance.{{Citation|last=Simon|first=George|title=In Sheep's Clothing: Understanding and Dealing with Manipulative People|year=2010|publisher=Parkhurst}}

{{Main|Workplace conflict}}

Passive-aggressive behavior from workers and managers is damaging to team unity and productivity. If this behavior is ignored, it could result in decreased office efficiency and frustration among workers.{{Citation | last = Harms | first = Kimberly A. | title = Passive Aggressive Behaviour in the Dental Office | edition = 3 |date=May–June 2012}}. If managers are passive-aggressive in their behavior, it can end up stifling team creativity. Paula De Angelis says, "It would actually make perfect sense that those promoted to leadership positions might often be those who on the surface appear to be agreeable, diplomatic and supportive, yet who are actually dishonest, backstabbing saboteurs behind the scenes."{{Citation | last = De Angelis | first = Paula | title = Blindsided: Recognizing and Dealing with Passive–aggressive Leadership in the Workplace | page = 3 | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-1442159204 |publisher = CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform}}.

Passive-aggressive behavior was first defined clinically by Colonel William C. Menninger during World War II in the context of men's reaction to military compliance. Menninger described soldiers who were not openly defiant but expressed their civil disobedience (what he called "aggressiveness") by "passive measures, such as pouting, stubbornness, procrastination, inefficiency, and passive obstructionism" due to what Menninger saw as an "immaturity" and a reaction to "routine military stress".{{Citation|last = Lane | first=C |title=The Surprising History of Passive–aggressive Personality Disorder|journal=Theory & Psychology|date=1 February 2009|volume=19|issue=1|pages=55–70|doi= 10.1177/0959354308101419| url = https://sites.northwestern.edu/christopher-lane/files/2016/08/lanedocpapd2009-24w8s9n.pdf| citeseerx=10.1.1.532.5027 | s2cid=147019317 }}

According to some psychoanalytic views, noncompliance is not indicative of true passive-aggressive behavior, which may instead be defined as the manifestation of emotions that have been repressed based on a self-imposed need for acceptance.{{Citation needed|reason=This claim needs a reliable source.|date=December 2020}}

{{div col|colwidth=15em}}

• Antisocial personality disorder
• Counterproductive work behavior
• Dark triad
• Gaming the system
• Gossip
• Guilt trip
• Let the Wookiee win
• Malicious compliance
• Mind games
• Narcissistic personality disorder
• Neglect
• Nonviolent resistance
• One-upmanship
• Oppositional defiant disorder
• Passivity
• Psychological manipulation
• Relational aggression
• Sarcasm
• Silent treatment
• Qahr and ashti, Iranian "silent treatment"
• Social undermining
• Workplace aggression
• Workplace bullying
• Work to rule

{{div col end}}

{{Portal|Psychology}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Citation | last =Kantor |year=2002 |title=Passive-aggression: a guide for the therapist, the patient and the victim |publisher= Praeger Publishers |location=Westport, CT |isbn= 978-0-275-97422-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ejBShSEt99kC&q=Passive-aggression:+a+guide+for+the+therapist,+the+patient+and+the+victim |access-date=27 April 2010 | first = Martin}}.
• {{Citation | title= Living with the Passive–aggressive Man| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JIyyid3xRyEC&q=Living+with+the+Passive–aggressive+Man | publisher= Simon & Schuster| year = 1992 | last = Wetzler | first = Scott|access-date=27 April 2010 | isbn= 9781451640175}}.
• {{Citation| title=Overcoming Passive-Aggression: How to Stop Hidden Anger From Spoiling Your Relationships, Career and Happiness| url=http://www.perseusacademic.com/buy.php?isbn=9781569243619| publisher=Perseus| year=2005| last=Oberlin| first=Loriann Hoff| pages=45| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104014628/http://www.perseusacademic.com/buy.php?isbn=9781569243619| archive-date=4 January 2014}}
• {{Cite book| title=The Silent Marriage: How Passive Aggression Steals Your Happiness| last=Femenia| first=Nora| year=2012| asin=B0090XFBF2}}
• {{Cite book| title=The Angry Smile: The Psychology of Passive–aggressive Behavior in Families, Schools, and Workplaces |author1=Nicholas James Long| author2=Jody E. Long| author3=Signe Whitson |year=2008 |isbn=978-1416404231 |publisher=Pro ed}}

{{Defence mechanisms}}

{{Nonverbal communication}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Aggression

Category:Borderline personality disorder

Category:Defence mechanisms

Category:Human behavior

Category:Motivation

Category:Protest tactics

Category:Symptoms and signs of mental disorders