Competitive incivility in the field: Immediate effects on the instigator and the victim

Abstract: Incivility is a consequential phenomenon that is often difficult to track. We studied competitive incivility in the field in the context of online chess. Focusing on games reaching an indefensible position, we compared cases of players who resigned (N = 80,105) with cases of players who stalled and waited until their clock ran out (imposing a few minutes of waiting on their opponent; N = 6,195). Compared to the civil act of resigning, the uncivil act of stalling was related to a reduced probability of continuing the interaction through a rematch, a drop in the following performance of the player instigating incivility, and a greater tendency of uncivil behavior by the player experiencing incivility. In addition, we found that committing a blunder just before the end of the game, which possibly highlights the loser’s responsibility in being defeated, was associated with reduced incivility.

Keywords: Incivility; competition; chess