Bullying occupies a special place in the realm of clinical psychology. How do you define a bully from the frame of mental health? What factors drive a person to bully others, and are these factors influenced by parental upbringing or demographics? Clinical psychologists have spent many years attempting to answer this question, and over time several models and theories have been developed that shed light on the origins of bully behavior. Some of the results of this research are quite sobering—according to a small survey done by Kids Health, 22% of students surveyed admitted to bullying another peer before. Whats worse is that verbal or physical abuse cases in school settings often go unreported, and people only find out when it is too late for the victim.
Bullies today are more an issue than they have ever been in the past. Though the image of the big kid who steals lunch money on the playground seems pass, the problem runs rampant both in school settings and in the workplace among adults. With the recent ascent of social media, patterns in the behavior associated with bullying have morphed and even proliferated in a dangerous way. Cyber-bullies, for instance, do not fit the traditional bully model, and this has been an especially intriguing challenge for clinical psychologists who want to understand—and solve—the issue.
Origins & Types of Bullying
It is widely accepted that there are multiple reasons why an individual might engage in bullying behavior, many of which rely on a persons particular psychosocial characteristics.
Superiority—a bully might decide to target a victim based on a perceived superiority like family wealth, social status, physical stature, race, or even beauty. Individuals with superiority complexes have inflated senses of self that, more often than not, are coupled with other psychological inconsistencies.
Papers on the origins of superiority issues
Explaining False Uniqueness: Why We are Both Better and Worse Than Others, by John R. Chambers of the University of Florida.
Myopic Social Prediction and the Solo Comparison Effect, by Don. A Moore and Tai Guy Kim, explores the psychological processes by which people make comparative social judgments.
A social-functional account of overconfidence, by Cameron Anderson and Sebastien Brion of UC Berkeley, attempts examine the hypothesis that overconfidence (and thus, superiority) provides adaptive social benefits.
Inferiority—while not part of the traditional bully profile, inferiority has a unique way of generating socially destructive behavior. Often, bullying in this context arises from a need for a bully to prove that they are a) not inferior, which might be due to the fact that the bully is has been bullied significantly before, or b) that the bully wants to prove they are not a good target for victimization.
Papers on the origins of inferiority:
Aberrant social relations in the personality disorders, by Nick Haslam et. Al, tests a theory that asserts personality disorders are result from system disturbances between people.
Scientific Racism: The Justification of Slavery and Segregated Education in America, by Amanda Thompson, touches on psychological inferiority and its complex relationship with racism.
Resistant versus Acquiescent Responses to Ingroup Inferiority as a Function of Social Dominance Orientation in the USA and Italy – a very exhaustive and unique study in itself.
Imitation—particularly during the adolescent years when many individuals of high social status exhibit bullying behavior, others may be psychologically coerced to imitate this behavior as a way of fitting in and being cool.
Papers on the implications of psychological imitation:
Bullying Behavior, Empathy, and Imitation: An Attempted Synthesis, by Kerstin Dautenhahn et. al.
Erik Erikson formulated the popular industry versus inferiority hypothesis that is a staple of developmental psychology. This is an essay written by C. Goerge Boeree of Shippensburg University.
Attention—a study by Vanderbilt University suggests that people who perceived they spent less time with their fathers were more apt to engage in bullying as a means of seeking the attention they didnt receive while growing up. Attention-starved individuals often lash out in destructive ways to raise feelings of self-worth.
Further reading on attention and psychology:
The Relationship Between Student Bullying Behaviors and Self-Esteem, a dissertation by Julie A. Spade.
Security—sometimes, those who do not feel comfortable interacting with others will use bullying as a preventative mechanism for distancing themselves from others.
Four Main Types of Bullying
The many forms that bullying manifests itself as can be broken down into a few simple categories:
Physical – Often directed at a specific individual, physical bullying is the most visible type of destructive behavior.
Emotional – Bullies might verbally abuse a target, slander them, or otherwise promote behavior among peers that puts pressure on a targets emotional weaknesses.
Relational – Relational bullies often spread unflattering rumors about their victims, or purposefully create an atmosphere of exclusion around the target by not inviting them to events and encouraging others to do the same. These behavior patterns, along with emotional bullying, are found more frequently amongst females.
Disruptive – This type of bullying is usually targeted at a single individual with larger effects—interruption while he or she talks, theft of a persons belongings, or any other behavior that is geared towards disturbing a persons natural routine. This type of bullying can be either physical or emotional in nature.
Cyber-bullying
Increased access to social media and technology has led to the growth and spread of many new bullying methods, many of which employ online forums, walls, and chats to engage in emotional and relational bullying. The Internet has created a new arena for bullies who want to physically or emotionally abuse a target without needing to be in their presence.
Below are some interesting academic papers that discuss some of the nuances related to cyber-bullying.
Cyberbullying and Sexting: Technology Abuses of the 21st Century, a short but poignant piece by Del Siegle, has a unique viewpoint and many additional references for further reading.
Cyber-bullying and young people: Treatment Principles and not simplistic advice, by Dr. Marilyn Campbell of the Queensland University of Technology.
Cyber Bullying: Keeping Maryland at the Forefront of Bullying Prevention is a well illustrated and thoughtful document that focuses on defining what cyber-bullying really is.
Cyber-bullying: The New Generation of Mean, by Kelly Shiraldi
Creighton University Magazine: Cyber Bullying, by Anthony Flott
Recognizing a Bully
The symptoms of bullying that a person displays are often unique to the individual and his or her emotional tendencies. Is the bully prone to externalization, or internationalization of his or her emotions? These all play a large role in identifying—and preventing—bully behavior. The following signs are typical indicators of a high potential for bullying:
Lack of self-control
Increased aggression
Anxiety
Increased levels of stress
Low self-esteem
Depression
Helping Bullies and Victims
Though the victims of bullying are often the focus of numerous studies, research done into bullies themselves shows maladjustment later in life. One in four individuals who participated in bullying early in their childhood have a criminal record by the age of 30, according to a study by Huesmann et. al. Children who bullied others also showed increased rates of violence and drug and alcohol usage. While many bullies are considered cool during adolescence, that image shifts into adulthood and their tendencies often cause them to lose friends. This, in turn, leads to isolation and loneliness.
Parents or guardians, educators, and employers should take active steps to ensure that bullying is not a problem on two fronts: from the perspective of the bully as well as from that of the victim.
Ask questions, particularly if a person seems distant or is behaving in a way that seems abnormal to their usual behavior. Make sure that everything is okay in their work or learning environment.
Listen actively: if an individual approaches you about a bullying issue, dont dismiss it as part of something that is a normal part of life. Try to understand the individuals way of thinking. People who are bullied often need someone they can confide in, which is a large test of trust.
Stabilize the home environment. Children who live in households where their parents or siblings are actively engaged in physical or emotional violence will likely mimic these behaviors in their relationships at school.
Remove the bully. For educators who are responding to a situation involving a bully and his or her victim, removing the victim from the arena can either increase the victims sense of isolation or act as a reinforcement of the bullys actions.
Discuss the incorrectness of bullying behavior. Do not take a confrontational or accusatory tone when addressing a bully, as this type of constructive criticism has proven to have more powerful long-term benefits.
Dont be afraid to act, and its never too soon – people at the peer, parent, educator, and district levels often choose not to act on bullying instances for various reasons (apathy, spite for the victim, not wanting to put in the effort, etc.). Challenging bullies and working with them to guide positive development can make personal environments safer in a way that is organic and helpful to everybody.