Blame or Justification: A Conceptual Model of How Attributions Shape Observers’ Deviant Responses to Abusive Supervision

The literature on antisocial bystander responses to vicarious mistreatment predominantly considers observer deviance as a retaliatory, emotion-based behavior and examines it through the lens of deontic justice. This perspective centers on the idea that observers are disturbed by abuse and act in favor of the victim with a desire to restore justice. However, recent research indicates that observers may also engage in deviance towards the victim, which makes the deonance theory insufficient for explaining different forms of bystander aggression. Therefore, to provide further insights into bystander aggression directed at the victim, we need to rely on an alternative perspective. Grounded in attribution theory, this work approaches observer deviance not as an emotional response but as a result of a cognitive process and proposes an attribution-driven model. We discuss the observer attribution process as an antecedent to different types of observer deviance that emerge following vicarious abusive supervision. Drawing on research on observers’ deviant reactions following vicarious abusive supervision, we conceptualize observers’ behaviors into two main categories (i.e., reciprocity-based and victim-based) and identify two main attribution types (i.e., responsibility and justification) that observers can make. Consequently, we develop a conceptual model proposing the mediating effects of observer attributions. Additionally, we discuss the possible moderating effects of power distance— at both the individual and the organizational levels—that may influence observer evaluations of coworker abuse. Our model addresses the role of observers’ evaluations of vicarious mistreatment, offers several empirically testable research propositions, and enhances our understanding of third-party deviance.