TOO-MUCH-OF-A-GOOD-THING EFFECT OF CONSENT SILENCE ON VOICE IN CYBERBULLYING

Current study investigates the effect of consent silence on voice in youth cyberbullying type incidents, based on the assumptions of "Too-Much-of-a-Good-Thing" theory. Research concludes that there is a negative correlation between consent silence and voice in stressful events, meaning that the higher silence agreement is, the lesser the voice of the individuals, in organizational settings. Applying these concepts into online aggression domain, we assume the hypothesis that between consent silence and voice in cyberbullying there is a curvilinear relationship. Extreme aspects of consent silence may perversely have a positive effect on voice, conceptualized in any form of reporting the incident, raising the possibility that the relationship is curvilinear rather than linear. Using single item research, data from 140 high school students were collected. Regression analyses identified a significant curvilinear relationship between consent silence and voice in cyberbullying type incidents, implying that very low and very high levels of consent silence were associated with voice regarding reporting the incident. Conclusions and implications are discussed. (C) 2019 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.UK