Victim Signaling: Is It Seen as Manipulative?

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• A study found some people with narcissistic or manipulative tendencies might use victim signaling on purpose.
• Coworkers often see people who signal victimhood often as less trustworthy and as causing more trouble at work.
• Job seekers who mentioned injustice in their applications got lower ratings, especially if they were people of color.
• People’s political beliefs change how they understand victim signaling. This shows big differences in how different groups think.
• People see leaders as less effective when those leaders signal victimhood too much.

In both workplaces and public forums, especially online, people often talk about their personal struggles, discrimination, or unfair treatment. Psychologists call this “victim signaling.” Many times, these signals aim to tell the truth and get help. But recent studies show people might see them in ways the signalers did not mean. They might even think bad things about them. Specifically, victim signaling connects to how people see “dark personality traits.” It can also hurt how others see someone at work. Here, we will look at the research behind these ideas. And we will discuss how businesses, leaders, and employees can deal with talking about personal suffering at work.

The Psychology of “Virtuous Victimhood”

Victim signaling is when someone talks about their suffering in a public or somewhat public way. But modern psychology shows this act does more than make people feel sorry for them. It can also make people think the person is morally better than others. Researchers call this mix of asking for moral support and showing oneself as suffering “virtuous victimhood.”

When someone signals they have been wronged, they might not just be saying, “I have suffered.” They might also be saying, “I am a good person.” This two-part message can greatly change how groups work. And it can help people get support faster than other actions. Also, it can protect them from strong criticism or being held responsible.

This way of communicating works especially well where people value caring and fairness, like in social groups and at work. Others might check a person less or believe them more easily. This is true whether the person talks about personal unfairness, unfairness from a company, or bigger system problems.

Still, this brings up questions: Do all people signal their suffering with honest reasons? Or could some use these signals on purpose to get sympathy, calm down critics, or avoid blame?

A study in Personality and Individual Differences found some people, especially those who only care about themselves, might use this signaling trick as part of a planned social move. In these cases, victim signaling is a fine line between truly showing weakness and acting in a tricky way.

The Dark Triad: Where Personality Traits Meet Perception

We can group three of the most studied antisocial personality traits under the name Dark Triad. These are narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.

• Narcissism means someone thinks they are great, feels they deserve special treatment, and really wants others to admire them.
• Machiavellianism shows up as being tricky, thinking the worst of people, and not having strong feelings.
• Psychopathy includes acting without thinking, being cold-hearted, and not caring much about other people’s feelings.

People have always linked these dark personality traits to bad actions, doing things that are not right, and making people trust them less at work. But now, researchers see another action that connects to these traits: victim signaling.

In the study by Aquino and others (2025), people who showed more of these dark traits were more likely to use victim signaling in different situations. They used their idea of suffering as a tool. This was not just to talk about or deal with a hard time. But it was to get power, get special treatment they did not earn, or push away criticism.

From a psychology point of view, this makes sense. Someone who is very Machiavellian might just know how powerful it is to claim moral victimhood in social settings. A narcissist might tell stories of being a victim to keep others admiring them or to get approval. And a psychopath might use such signals just to get what they want, without feeling real emotions.

Most important, this is not just an idea from personality tests. At work, coworkers often saw more troubling actions when people who signaled victimhood also scored high on these dark traits. This includes breaking rules, starting team fights, and generally making the workplace less peaceful.

So, victim signaling might be like a psychological warning sign. It is a way of acting that makes you want to look closer at someone’s reasons and honesty.

Impact on Workplace Behavior and Team Perception

At work, where teams and results matter, the way someone talks about hardship can greatly change how others see their skills, ability to work with others, and dependability. Victim signaling, especially when it happens a lot or is made to sound very dramatic, can make others see the person as someone who changes emotions quickly or avoids issues.

Coworkers might see this signaling not as showing feelings, but as a trick to:

• Avoid problems for doing poorly at work,
• Try to get praise they do not deserve,
• Weaken rules or how things are done, or
• Play office games using feelings to get what they want.

These ideas about someone cause big effects on relationships and the whole company. Coworkers might stay away or not trust them. And team might not work as well together. Also, workers might not want to give useful advice or include that person in important projects.

For HR and leaders, signaling often or in a tricky way might link to what experts call Counterproductive Work Behaviors (CWBs). These are things like:

• Spreading gossip and rumors,
• Being indirectly aggressive,
• Working against team goals,
• Not doing their part.

What is important here is that the truth of what someone says does not mainly cause these results. Instead, it is how others see what is said. And sadly, in detailed social places like workplaces, what people think is often more important than what someone meant.

Victim Signaling in Performance Reviews and Leadership Assessments

Victim signaling affects more than just daily team work. It also impacts formal checks like performance reviews, promotions, and leadership assessments.

Leaders, especially in companies with clear levels, need certain key qualities:

• Being calm,
• Making choices based on facts,
• Dealing with problems well,
• Appearing morally and socially mature.

It is okay for modern leaders to show weakness sometimes. But showing yourself mainly as a victim during reviews can seem like a weakness. Or even worse, it can seem like a risk.

In one test, researchers had people act as hiring managers. They looked at job seeker profiles. One profile mentioned the person had faced unfair treatment at work. Even with valid reasons, these people always rated that job seeker as:

• Less skilled,
• Having more traits of narcissism and being tricky,
• Not good for leader jobs.

This shows that victim signaling, even when it comes from real pain, can cause problems when someone is trying to move up in their career. Many people doing the reviews think: “If they act like a victim now, how will they deal with problems or failures later as a leader?”

Hiring Preferences and Subtle Bias in Recruitment

The way people see things becomes even sharper when hiring. Job seekers are not just judged on their skills alone. People also look at if they fit in, their overall feeling, and if their story makes sense.

To see how victim signaling changes hiring choices, Aquino and others changed hiring papers to add one line: “As someone who has faced unfairness…” This one phrase greatly changed how the reviewers thought.

Job seekers who added the phrase:

• Were seen as more tricky, even if their skills were the same,
• Were rated as feeling they deserved special treatment or needing a lot of attention,
• Got a lower spot on the list for a promotion or job.

What is worse, this effect was stronger for job seekers of color. When Black or ethnic-minority job seekers spoke of past unfairness, even in a small way, the bad reactions they got showed both racial bias and bias in how people dealt with them. Reviewers judged them as:

• Less friendly,
• Less skilled,
• More suspicious or only thinking about themselves.

This meeting of race and victim signaling shows a double risk of unfair treatment. One risk is based on who they are as a group. The other is based on how they tell their story. This shows how people from groups that face unfair treatment might be in a tough spot. They are punished for their past and for talking about it.

When Politics Shapes Perception: Ideology and Interpretation

People do not understand messages in a neutral way. They do so through their own beliefs, culture, and personal ways of thinking. That is why political beliefs can be a big part of how people take victim signaling.

In one test, a Black business owner told a story about getting past racial problems in business. How the people in the test saw this depended a lot on their political views. Some saw it as victim signaling. Others saw it as strong effort to keep going, which was good.

• Conservative people in the test were more likely to call the story narcissistic or tricky.
• Liberal people in the test were more likely to see it as true, inspiring, or brave.

This political difference shows how victim signaling can become something people argue about, disagree on, or find unclear. This is especially true on sites like LinkedIn, where personal and work stories mix together.

Simply put, how people understand something is not just about the tone or words used. It is about the person understanding it, their beliefs, and how they see the world.

Context Is Everything: When Do Victim Signals Help vs. Hurt?

A main point from all the research is that the situation matters most.

Victim signaling:

• Can feel powerful when fighting for a cause, but tricky when working in a team.
• Can create a sense of belonging in support groups, but destroy trust in projects that need high results.
• Might work when telling stories or in a culture that values showing weakness. But it can hurt how people see your work during high-level reviews.

So, researchers suggest thinking about signaling as a two-step choice:

1. What is the reason for it, and is it truly shared?
2. Who is listening, and how do they understand emotional requests?

This is called a Reputational Cost-Benefit Analysis. It means thinking carefully about:

• Will this signal make things clearer and bring help?
• Or could it cause unfair views, doubt, or strong negative reactions?

There is no single answer. Culture, who you are, your goals, and when you do it all change the risks.

Ethical Nuances: Not Every Signal Is a Strategy

One very important point in this new research is this: pain does not mean manipulation. Not everyone who talks about unfairness is acting. Not every victim plans things out. Not everyone who signals is fake.

Psychologists strongly warn against using this data to doubt all stories of victimhood. That would be wrong and risky. Instead, the aim is to understand how others might take in those stories. This way, we can make communication, understanding, and fairness better when we judge things.

Always being suspicious of every signal creates a bad place where real complaints are not heard. Instead, we should balance knowing about tricky patterns with basic care and trusting people first.

Implications for the Modern Workplace: Balancing Empathy with Awareness

For managers, people who hire, and HR staff, this topic is not just for studies. It is useful for real life.

How can we listen to employees but also keep the company productive and fair?

Some helpful ideas include:

• Give clear ways to report things so personal talk is separate from official action.
• Teach people who review others about hidden biases. This is key for victim talk and people from groups that are often treated unfairly.
• Create a safe mind space so employees do not have to signal publicly to be heard inside the company.
• Use evaluations based on actions, not on feelings or ideas, when deciding on leader roles or hiring.

The best thing is to create a workplace that helps both honest talk and acting with purpose and honesty.

Rethinking the Morality of Victim Narratives

Humans came to be in a way that makes them protect victims. But they also came to be able to spot lies. When someone shows themselves as both morally good and a victim in society, it triggers two basic feelings: caring and doubt.

This two-part reaction is not a mistake. It is a useful tool for staying alive. But today, it can stop fairness or create bad cycles of feedback.

Companies and leaders must build cultures that keep up moral duty in how victim stories are judged. This means not using stereotypes, asking good questions, and knowing that actions show both who a person is and their surroundings. It is not just about if they are honest or not.

Future Considerations: Where Does the Research Go from Here?

Current research shows a strong connection between victim signaling, dark personality traits, and biased views. But many questions are still unanswered.

Important next steps include:

• Looking at if these signaling ways predict what happens at work over a long time.
• Checking how company culture balances or makes these effects worse.
• Studying how social media sites make signaling seem normal or encourage it. This changes how people act and their work identity even before they apply for jobs.

The main point is: We need more, long-term data to turn studies on how people see things into ways we can predict what will happen.

Navigating the Complex Terrain of Victim Signaling

Victim signaling is a tricky area. Sometimes it helps with fairness. Other times, it hides trickery. In a world full of personal stories in resumes, meeting rooms, and on social media, figuring out true intentions becomes both more pressing and harder.

No one measure can tell the difference between being honest and just caring about oneself. But if we understand the mind’s forces, what people think at work, and the hidden biases that form reactions to these signals, we can respond with more clarity, fairness, and balance.

We need to stop seeing victim signaling as just one thing or the other. Instead, we must allow for small differences, welcome personal truth, and protect the honesty of our reviews.

References

Aquino, K., Thau, S., Graso, M., Clark, C., Lagios, C., Restubog, S. L. D., & Lu, T. (2025). The reputational consequences of victim signaling. Personality and Individual Differences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2025.113515