Comparative Moral Standing and Workplace Antagonism: Examining Anger and Disgust Across Two Within‐Person Studies

ABSTRACT Colleague‐directed antagonism is harmful to organizations, yet the psychological processes linking comparative moral appraisals to antagonism remain unclear. Drawing on affective events theory and a discrepancy‐based process account, we examine whether perceiving oneself as more moral than one's colleagues is associated with colleague‐directed anger and disgust, antagonistic attitudes, and subsequent behavioral intentions. We tested this model in two preregistered studies. Study 1 used a 10‐week longitudinal field design with full‐time employees in Germany (190 employees; 1545 employee‐week observations). Moral superiority was positively associated with anger and disgust. Anger, but not disgust, was positively associated with later antagonistic attitudes, and the indirect association through anger was supported. Study 2 used a within‐participant vignette experiment with employees in the United Kingdom. Each of 506 participants completed both vignettes, producing 1012 employee‐vignette observations. The vignette contrast designed to increase comparative moral standing elicited greater anger and disgust. Both emotions were positively associated with antagonistic attitudes, which were subsequently associated with stronger antagonistic behavioral intentions. Serial indirect associations through anger and disgust were supported. Across studies, the findings provide preliminary evidence for partly distinct emotional pathways, although the bundled Study 2 contrast and substantial construct overlap warrant cautious interpretation.