Problem 1
Learning goals:
1.
- how do you become a bully or a victim?
- what are the consequences of bullying? short-term and long-term consequences?
- how do people react to bullying? what are the effects of the dynamics between the
victim, bullier and bystander?
2.
- how can we counteract bullying?
- what factors determine the efficacy of anti-bullying interventions programs?
JUVONEN AND GRAHAM Bullying in Schools: The Power of Bullies and the Plight of
VictimsS
- bullying involves targeted intimidation or humiliation
- a physically stronger or socially prominent person abuses her/his power
- bullying entails more than aggression: captures a dynamic interaction between the
perpetrator and the victim
- power imbalance distinguishes bullying from conflict
- it’s not clear if repetition is a required component
- 20-25% of youths are directly involved in bullying
- 9-25% are victims, 4-9% are bullies
- chronic bullies: less than 10% are likely to be chronic bully, they age out of the
tendency to bully
- longitudinal studies indicate more instability than stability, there are a host of
changing factors – but this instability doesn’t mean bullying has no lasting effects
- studies have examined overlap among bully and victims: victim become bullies and
bullies become victims
Forms and functions of bullying behaviors
- direct:
o physical aggression, threats, name calling
o intimidating or humiliating in front of an audience
- indirect
o spreading rumors, backstabbing, exclusion from the group relational
manipulation
o designed to target social reputation or social status
o conceals the identity of the perpetrator, bully uses peer group as a tool
- studies don’t reveal age differences in the use of direct versus indirect tactics
- physical aggression decreases with age
- boys are more likely to engage in physical forms of bullying than girls
- although girls use more relation than physical aggressive behavior, there’re no strong
differences between the 2 genders in the use of relational aggression (boys are just
as likely as girls)
- forms of aggression are highly correlated r = 0.76 between direct & indirect
, Social dominance
- bullies are not necessarily lacking social skill or the ability to regulate emotions
- there’s evidence that bullies are cold, calculating, lacking empathy, using coercive
strategies to dominate and control peers and they value being visible, influential and
admired
- bullying is guided by social dominance and enables youth to gain and maintain a
dominant position within their group
- bullying peaks during times of social reorganization and uncertainty (since bullying is
temporary and not stable)
o e.g. transition from elementary school to middle school
o a dominance hierarchy allow youths to navigate social scene safely as they
learn to position themselves in the hierarchy
Inflated self-views and social-cognitive biases of bullies
- aggressive youths have inflated perception of themselves, rate themselves lower on
depression, social anxiety, and loneliness, they overestimate their competence of
peer status as well as academic and athletic domains
- information processing biases:
o hostile attribution bias: perceive ambiguous situations as hostile
o maintain their positive self-views by blaming and aggressing against others
rather than accept personal responsibility
- bullies receive positive social feedback more than negative (3 rd learning goal)
o bystanders reinforce
o youths rarely challenge bullies when they witness an incident
o people with side with the bully to protect social status, reputation etc.
Victim subtypes
- most typical group of victims are submissive victims:
o who are anxious, insecure and sensitive (who often cry), lack confidence in
social interactions increase risk of bullying
- another group is chronic targets: provocative victims who resort to aggression much
like bullies
o ineffectual (failed attempts to retaliate at bullies didn’t stop bullying)
o their emotional response is rewarding to bullies
o victims of this group seem to have emotion regulation and attention problems
related to attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders
- individual and social risk factors
o obesity, off-time pubertal maturation, disabilities, LGBT youths
o anything that make youths stand out from their peers increases the likelihood
of them being bullied
o social misfits: those whose social behavior deviates from group norms
o emotional or behavioral problems (especially when targets are lower in social
status), depression (they also have difficulties forming friendships), marginal
social status, lack of friends (risk for peer victimization)
o emotional support from a friend plays a critical role in how victims are
affected by bullying
Learning goals:
1.
- how do you become a bully or a victim?
- what are the consequences of bullying? short-term and long-term consequences?
- how do people react to bullying? what are the effects of the dynamics between the
victim, bullier and bystander?
2.
- how can we counteract bullying?
- what factors determine the efficacy of anti-bullying interventions programs?
JUVONEN AND GRAHAM Bullying in Schools: The Power of Bullies and the Plight of
VictimsS
- bullying involves targeted intimidation or humiliation
- a physically stronger or socially prominent person abuses her/his power
- bullying entails more than aggression: captures a dynamic interaction between the
perpetrator and the victim
- power imbalance distinguishes bullying from conflict
- it’s not clear if repetition is a required component
- 20-25% of youths are directly involved in bullying
- 9-25% are victims, 4-9% are bullies
- chronic bullies: less than 10% are likely to be chronic bully, they age out of the
tendency to bully
- longitudinal studies indicate more instability than stability, there are a host of
changing factors – but this instability doesn’t mean bullying has no lasting effects
- studies have examined overlap among bully and victims: victim become bullies and
bullies become victims
Forms and functions of bullying behaviors
- direct:
o physical aggression, threats, name calling
o intimidating or humiliating in front of an audience
- indirect
o spreading rumors, backstabbing, exclusion from the group relational
manipulation
o designed to target social reputation or social status
o conceals the identity of the perpetrator, bully uses peer group as a tool
- studies don’t reveal age differences in the use of direct versus indirect tactics
- physical aggression decreases with age
- boys are more likely to engage in physical forms of bullying than girls
- although girls use more relation than physical aggressive behavior, there’re no strong
differences between the 2 genders in the use of relational aggression (boys are just
as likely as girls)
- forms of aggression are highly correlated r = 0.76 between direct & indirect
, Social dominance
- bullies are not necessarily lacking social skill or the ability to regulate emotions
- there’s evidence that bullies are cold, calculating, lacking empathy, using coercive
strategies to dominate and control peers and they value being visible, influential and
admired
- bullying is guided by social dominance and enables youth to gain and maintain a
dominant position within their group
- bullying peaks during times of social reorganization and uncertainty (since bullying is
temporary and not stable)
o e.g. transition from elementary school to middle school
o a dominance hierarchy allow youths to navigate social scene safely as they
learn to position themselves in the hierarchy
Inflated self-views and social-cognitive biases of bullies
- aggressive youths have inflated perception of themselves, rate themselves lower on
depression, social anxiety, and loneliness, they overestimate their competence of
peer status as well as academic and athletic domains
- information processing biases:
o hostile attribution bias: perceive ambiguous situations as hostile
o maintain their positive self-views by blaming and aggressing against others
rather than accept personal responsibility
- bullies receive positive social feedback more than negative (3 rd learning goal)
o bystanders reinforce
o youths rarely challenge bullies when they witness an incident
o people with side with the bully to protect social status, reputation etc.
Victim subtypes
- most typical group of victims are submissive victims:
o who are anxious, insecure and sensitive (who often cry), lack confidence in
social interactions increase risk of bullying
- another group is chronic targets: provocative victims who resort to aggression much
like bullies
o ineffectual (failed attempts to retaliate at bullies didn’t stop bullying)
o their emotional response is rewarding to bullies
o victims of this group seem to have emotion regulation and attention problems
related to attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders
- individual and social risk factors
o obesity, off-time pubertal maturation, disabilities, LGBT youths
o anything that make youths stand out from their peers increases the likelihood
of them being bullied
o social misfits: those whose social behavior deviates from group norms
o emotional or behavioral problems (especially when targets are lower in social
status), depression (they also have difficulties forming friendships), marginal
social status, lack of friends (risk for peer victimization)
o emotional support from a friend plays a critical role in how victims are
affected by bullying
