Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Tegrarian, Roy J

Titel

A Psychological Theory for Accountability/Cancel Culture and Personality Typology: A Theory of Personality Characteristics and Moral Values Associated with Accountability/Cancel Culture

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

2025

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• A growing social trend is the support and engagement in accountability/cancel culture actions. Accountability/cancel culture is the deliberate targeting of another for a perceived transgression. Being the target of or participating in accountability/cancel culture can result in an individual experiencing reputational harm, acute and chronic psychological distress such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress, depression, impaired empathy, alienation, erosion of social support, physiological effects, self-censorship, compromising or abandoning one’s values, and risks to one’s livelihood. Over the last decade, the internet and social media have made accountability and cancellation attempts achievable at a scope and scale hitherto unprecedented, thus making ignoring or avoiding reputational harm nearly impossible for those targeted. This theoretical dissertation examines the relationships between psychological concepts, mechanisms, and theories that are posited to underly, enable, and explain accountability/cancel culture. Additionally, this theoretical dissertation posits a novel typology of personality characteristics associated with supporting and engaging in accountability/cancel culture. With accountability/ cancel culture being a relatively new phenomenon, no personality typology has been developed linking the characteristics among individuals who support or engage in accountability/cancel culture and well-established personality characteristics and moral values. This theoretical dissertation is crucial because it identifies personality characteristics and moral values associated with supporting and engaging in accountability/cancel culture, assists in developing a fitting lens to view accountability or cancellation attempts, and may inform an appropriate response for an individual or organization targeted.