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Full-Text Articles in Psychology
Understanding Why Some Whistleblowers Are Venerated And Others Vilified, Christopher D. E. Atkinson, Eric D. Wesselmann, Daniel G. Lannin
Understanding Why Some Whistleblowers Are Venerated And Others Vilified, Christopher D. E. Atkinson, Eric D. Wesselmann, Daniel G. Lannin
Heroism Science
Whistleblowers are individuals who witness a moral infraction committed within their organization and report this infraction publicly to hold the group accountable. Whistleblowers often face ridicule, vilification, and exclusion both within their group and sometimes within broader society. Thus, whistleblowers put themselves at personal risk to adhere to their moral code and protect others; these criteria commonly classify someone as a hero. We argue diverse reactions to whistleblowers are influenced by numerous situational factors that influence perceptions of a whistleblower’s intentions as well as the expected consequences of their whistleblowing. Whether a whistleblower is viewed as a virtuous reformer (i.e., …
Constructing The Heroic Whistleblower: A Social Scientific Approach, Brian K. Richardson, Joseph Mcglynn
Constructing The Heroic Whistleblower: A Social Scientific Approach, Brian K. Richardson, Joseph Mcglynn
Heroism Science
Many whistleblowers perform heroic acts, but not all whistleblowers are heroes. Motivation, method, and risk vary across whistleblower contexts. Although many whistleblowers portray aspects of archetypal heroism, research is needed to specify the qualities of heroic whistleblowers from non-heroic whistleblowers. The present study aims to develop an archetype of heroic whistleblowers. We identify five dimensions of whistleblowing heroism and then draw upon data from interviews that we conducted with 32 actual whistleblowers to provide examples of each element. We argue there are five dimensions of the whistleblowing process that distinguish heroic whistleblowers. The five dimensions include 1) motivation for blowing …