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Database of Negative Behavior (160 Entries)

Negative behaviors are ways of acting that are deemed as counterproductive, unpleasant or unfriendly. These include behaviors directed toward other people and personal behaviors or ways of thinking that are likely to produce negative results over time.

All (165)

Social (26)

Communication (13)

Media Behaviors (13)

Professional (31)

Academic (14)

Personal (20)

Complex (16)

Character Traits (41)

Absenteeism	Aggression
Apathy	Arrogance
Avoidance	Avoiding Responsibility
Backhanded Compliments	Backstabbing
Being Evasive	Being Judgmental
Being Late	Being Melodramatic
Being Unapproachable	Belittling Others
Belligerent	Bitterness
Blame-shifting	Boastfulness
Breaking Confidentiality	Bringing Personal Issues to Work
Bullying	Callousness
Catastrophizing	Character Assassination
Cheating	Clinginess
Complacency	Compulsive Behaviors
Condescending	Contempt
Controlling	Corporate Narcissism
Cowardice	Cyberbullying
Deceitful	Defeatism
Delusional Behaviors	Denial
Discrimination	Disdainful
Disengagement	Disloyalty
Disregarding Privacy	Disrespectful Behavior
Disrespectful Humor	Disruptive Behavior
Distractability	Distrustful
Egotistical	Envious
Exaggerating	Excessive Attention Seeking
Excessive Competitiveness	Excessive Complaining
Failing to Meet Commitments	Fear Mongering
Gloating	Gossip
Greedy	Harsh Criticism
Herd Mentality	Hoarding Information
Hoarding Resources	Hostile
Hypocritical	Ignoring Deadlines
Ignoring Others	Impoliteness
Inauthentic	Indifference
Indulgent	Inferiority Complex
Inflated Sense of Entitlement	Inflexibility
Ingratitude	Insincere Apologies
Insincerity	Interrupting
Intolerance	Irresponsibility
Jealousy	Jumping to Conclusions
Lack of Accountability	Lack of Cooperation
Lack of Diligence	Lack of Focus
Lack of Initiative	Lack of Nuance
Lack of Punctuality	Low Self-Confidence
Low Self-Discipline	Low Self-Esteem
Making Excuses	Malcontent
Manipulative	Mediocrity
Micromanaging	Mudslinging
Narcissistic Behavior	Negativity
Neglectful	Not Being Supportive
Not Listening	Obsessiveness
One-upmanship	Over-sensitive
Overbearing Control	Overconfident
Overcritical	Overgeneralization
Overindulgence	Overlooking Context
Overly Critical	Overpromising & Underdelivering
Overreacting	Overreliance & Dependence
Oversharing	Overthinking
Passive Aggression	Perfectionism
Pessimism	Pettiness
Plagiarism	Politicizing Things
Procrastination	Ranting
Recklessness	Resentment
Resistance to Change	Risk Avoidance
Rudeness	Sabotaging Peers
Sabotaging Projects	Scapegoating
Schadenfreude	Scornful
Self-Satisfied	Self-pity
Self-righteous	Self-sabotage
Sensationalism	Shaming
Short-tempered	Showing Favoritism
Sidelining	Slander
Smugness	Social Loafing
Social Withdrawal	Stubbornness
Superficial	Superiority Complex
Taking Credit	Talking Over Others
Toxic Positivity	Unambitious
Undisciplined	Unforgiving
Ungrateful	Unprofessional Conduct
Unreliability	Victim Mentality
Whining & Pouting	Withholding Affection
Yelling

Labeling Others

The English language has a large number of phrases and words to describe negative behaviors and character traits. Perhaps, these are useful for identifying and dealing with behaviors in yourself and others that are difficult, dysfunctional or detrimental.

However, the list above isn't intended to be used to label others. As much as possible, it is helpful to try to look at people in a positive light and to be understanding and compassionate.

Where people do exhibit negative behaviors, it is likely they have redeeming qualities that are overwhelmingly positive. Even if they don't -- every human has value and potential. It is the hallmark of maturity to be able to accept the weaknesses of others and to focus on improving oneself first.

What is Negative?

Negative behaviors produce adverse results and unfavorable reactions from others. However, this is often situational such that it isn't always possible to categorize behaviors as completely positive or negative. For example, optimism is generally positive but excessive optimism could be used to avoid important emotions such as sadness that can be important human experiences. Likewise, seemingly negative behaviors such as complaining can be completely reasonable depending on the situation.

Next read: Conflict Resolution

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