Donald Fedor, John Maslyn, Steven Farmer and Kenneth Bettenhausen
Journal of Applied Social Psychology Vol. 38, Issue 1, p. 76 – 96

This study investigates whether perceptions of positive (i.e., beneficial) political behaviors are distinct from those of negative political behaviors and the extent to which positive politics perceptions contribute to the prediction of organizationally relevant employee reactions. Data were drawn from 119 survey respondents. The results indicate that, rather than 2 ends of a continuum of political behavior, positive and negative politics represent separate perceptions both of which are seen to occur for individual, group, and organizational foci. In addition, perceptions of positive politics contribute significantly beyond perceptions of negative politics to the prediction of the 4 outcomes used in this study (satisfaction with one’s job, supervision, and coworkers; and fulfillment of one’s psychological contract with the organization).