Robert Sutton, Professor of Management Science and Engineering in the Stanford Engineering School, and Co-Director of the Center for Work, Technology, and Organization, talks about different methods to recognize a jerk. He identifies jerks from a victim's perspective, studying different characteristics like yelling, abuse and screaming and looking at political backstabbing. Sutton says there are numerous ways in which jerks operate but he tends to focus on the damage done to the victim.
Sutton talks about several important factors that turn people into jerks. He describes how being around many aggressive people will transform a person into a jerk. He also explains how pressure is a key contributor in building jerk behavior.
Sutton talks about different work places, such as law firms and hospitals, where there is a lot of jerk behavior among workers. He adds that there are some places where jerks are institutionalized. He notes, however, that there are other work places where being a jerk is inefficient.