Developmental model
Adolf G. Gundersen and Suzanne Goodney Lea developed a civility model grounded in empirical data that "stresses the notion that civility is a sequence, not a single thing or set of things". The model conceives of civility as a continuum or scale consisting of increasingly demanding traits ranging from "indifference" to "commentary", "conversation", "co-exploration" and, from there, to "habituation". According to the authors, such a developmental model has several advantages, not least of which is that it allows civility to be viewed as something everyone can get better at.Empathy in civility
Many experts say civility goes beyond good manners and listening attentively, but includes sharing our own beliefs and values with others through some type of engagement with the intent of sincere respect towards one another. This also requires a willingness and open mindedness to having our opinions and biases challenged by others who share different and perhaps unique points of view. Experts say that our ability to act with civility is connected with our ability to understand our own emotions. Understanding our feelings helps us to recognize how we are feeling in real-time and give us a greater ability to have empathy for others. Furthermore, discerning and recognizing our feelings can help us to evaluate the things that trigger us emotionally and therefore become more aware of how we will possibly react and feel in certain situations. By taking the time to understand our thoughts and emotions in these situations, this practice can lead to self-recognition and acceptance of how similar situations may affect others, including those that may share a unique perspective. Sharon Styles-Anderson established Emotional Civility Day, March 6. Emotional Civility, a concept developed by Anderson, helps the world recognize that there is a connection between the way people feel and the way they interact with others.Lack of civility
Incivility is the opposite of civility—a lack of civility. Verbal or physical attacks on others, cyber bullying, rudeness, religious intolerance, discrimination, and vandalism are some of the acts that are generally considered uncivil. Incivility is an issue on the global stage. Social media and the web give people the ability to freely exchange ideas, but this has not come without consequences. Politicians in the U.S. frequently say that they encounter a lack of civility in their workplace, and have disregarded it as unfortunate aspect of politics. But polls indicate that "going negative" can help candidates win elections. During the 2016 presidential campaign, candidateMovements to foster civility
Worldwide
In October 2019, theIn the United States
Opinion polls
A 2010 Allegheny College poll found that nearly all Americans (95 percent) believe civility is important in politics. In a 2012 poll conducted by Weber Shandwick, 65% of Americans reported an increase in incivility due to a weakened U.S. economy during the Great Recession. Almost 50% of those Americans indicated they have removed themselves from participating in politics because of fear of incivility or bullying. Of the 1000 people surveyed, a follow-up study revealed that 86% of those people reported being subjected to incivility. In this report, part of an annual follow-up research report in January 2016 sharing findings on attitudes and sentiment about civility, 95% of Americans believe that incivility is a very visible issue, while 74% recognized that civility in general had declined during the past few years. Over 90% of voters claimed that the presidential candidates' attitudes and civil behavior would play a significant role in their voting decision in the upcoming 2016 election. In poll conducted byIn the legal profession
Penn State University conducted a study on perceptions of the legal profession and its relation to civility. They found that general opinion pointed to a drop in civility within the legal profession. To counteract demeaning and unprofessional behavior, there have been several initiatives put in place by state bar associations. However, the legal profession is not the only industry that has adopted civility standards. Many other companies and organizations across several industries have adopted civility standards that also help to increase workplace civility.In schools
Numerous universities in the U.S., such as the University of Colorado, the University of Missouri, University of California Davis,In the community
Numerous community groups have formed in the U.S. to restore constructive civility in the public space. The Civility Toolkit with approximately 300 civility tools aggregated by the Civility Center provides access to resources regarding civility to help restore civility in society. Many of these groups are members of the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation. Arnett and Arneson define civility as "a metaphor that points to the importance of public respect in interpersonal interaction." The difference between tolerating someone and respecting them is that toleration does not imply respect, but respect requires understanding of another person's perspective. Having social intelligence or "Social IQ" impacts our ability to empathize with people, and realize all people are human and that if respect or common ground cannot be met that we strive for at least toleration in order to be civil. In ''Psychology Today'', Price-Mitchell describes civility as a personal attitude that acknowledges other humans' rights to live and coexist together in a manner that does not harm others. The psychology of civility indicates awareness, ability to control one's passions, as well as have a deeper understanding of others. This may suggest that civility goes beyond mere toleration, but may imply a mutual co-existence and respect for humankind. In the academic journal '' Philosophy & Public Affairs'', Calhoun delineates civility as an element of dialogue that sheds light on "basic moral attitudes of respect, tolerance, and considerateness". Calhoun considers civility to be one of the moral virtues that can differ from what is socially acceptable, since what is socially acceptable is not always morally correct. In the ''Washington Post'', Peter Wehner, author and former deputy director of speechwriting for PresidentMasons and civility
The Freemasons and members of the Masonic family have had a long history of fostering civil dialogue and building civil societies. Masonic Lodges represent a peaceful assembly of people that are of different places of origin, languages, backgrounds, and beliefs. The principles and tenets of Freemasonry aim to promote and restore civility in the United States and around the globe. In 2015, Grand Master Charvonia of the Grand Lodge of California declared May 25, 2015 to be the "Champion Civility Month", which encouraged Freemasons throughout California to make an effort to bring more civility into their local lodges and community. Additionally, Freemasons from around the world have been working to repair civility through the Masonic Family Civility Project. This Civility Project was built to help raise awareness of civility, by providing social conversations, civility resources, multimedia education, and information for anyone to access. From April 30 to May 1 of 2019, an Urgency of Civility Conference was hosted in Washington D.C. at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. Civility experts convened to discuss civility in arenas of government, education, media, community, and the workplace. During the conference, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II made a presentation in recognition of Virginia Forni and her late husband, P.M. Forni, for their efforts on the Johns Hopkins Civility Initiative. Advocates of civility shared their thoughts, ideas, and efforts to promote civility in various sectors. Attendees worked together to form action items required to help further civility initiatives, including innovative thinking, engaging the community, and maintaining steadfast persistence.In the workplace
Studies and polls from 2014 indicate that Americans find workplace incivility to be a growing problem that has a negative impact on them and their duties at work. One study suggests 60% of employees think that their co-workers' irritating habits have negatively affected them at their job. In the same study, 40% reported that they are looking for another job opportunity because of a negative co-worker. These studies suggest that incivility in the workplace dampens productivity and has an adverse effect on an organization's bottom line. This data does not account for how many people encounter workplace incivility and are not sure what they can do about it. Furthermore, it does not take into consideration how many of these workplaces have civility tools or initiatives. Various organizations, including the United States government, have taken steps to prevent incivility at work. One strategy is addressingOrganizational behavior
Human resource managers are aware of the effects of social behavior in the workplace. Inappropriate workplace behavior has led HR personnel to pay more attention to problems arising from incivility, bullying, and abusive supervision within organizations. Research concluded that incivility can have a negative impact of organizational behavior, including: decreased satisfaction, reduced job performance, increased perceptions of injustice, increased depression, and can lead to employees to experience psychological withdrawal. Organizations are improving their workplaces by reducing incident rates and limiting liability. Some companies offer employees civility training specifically geared to foster civility by facilitating conversations about it. Research indicates that civility training shows a positive increase in respect, job satisfaction, and overall trust, while effects of incivility, cynicism, and employee absenteeism decreased. The results suggest civility training can improve the workplace climate, foster a culture of positive behaviors, and minimize workplace issues.In Canada
In July 2012, the President of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada addressed civility at the 5th Biennial International Legal Ethics Conference. In 2012, the Law Society of Upper Canada decided that Joe Groia was guilty of incivility to opposing counsel during his successful defense of John Felderhof on Insider trading and securities charges. On the same case, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed the decision of Bar of Quebec that Giles Dore was guilty of professional misconduct because of an uncivil letter he wrote to a judge. This high-profile case brought a lot of attention to the legal definition of the word civility, and what it means to be civil in the legal profession. It has since defined a broader set of rules of what is legally considered civil in the court of law in Canada. Since the Groia case, The Law Society of Upper Canada launched several initiatives to guard against incivility in the Canadian legal profession. To enforce its stance on civility in the Canadian legal system, they issued verbal warnings to lawyers who are not civil with judges and other lawyers. The counter argument against civility measures is that the new guidelines may inhibit their ability to defend their clients. In January 2017, the B.C. & Yukon Freemasons in Canada stated civility was like The Golden Rule: "treating others as you would want them to treat you". This statement was in part to a recent civility initiative.In New Zealand
At a recent address with Gisborne's top businesswomen in early 2016, Lara Meyer, an adviser to the Australian Government, cited incivility in the workplace has cost New Zealand approximately a year. Noting that Australia is also losing out about a year due to a lack of workplace civility. There could potentially be more loss that is unaccounted for in New Zealand businesses, as the cost of rudeness could be holding them back from working together more politely and agreeably.Famous quotes on civility
* "So let us begin anew—remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate." ― John F. Kennedy * "Civility does not here mean the mere outward gentleness of speech cultivated for the occasion, but an inborn gentleness and desire to do the opponent good." ― Mohandas K. Gandhi * "Civility costs nothing and buys you everything." ― Lady Mary Wortley Montagu * "If a man continually blusters, if he lacks civility, a big stick will not save him from trouble, and neither will speaking softly avail, if back of the softness there does not lie strength, power." ―See also
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Further reading
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* {{Virtues Etiquette Habits Popular culture