Attitudes and Research on Bullying
Many people share the sentiment that bullying is something that has to be endured and is somehow character building. “Boys will be boys.” “That which doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger,” are common adages that come to mind. These notions need to be dispelled and a brief look at the history of the research of bullying should prove this.
Konrad Lorenz, a scientist and Nobel Peace Prize Winner (1973) introduced the term “mobbing.” This concept was based on his studies of aggressive behavior in ducks and geese. Lorenz makes the connection between aggressive animal behaviors and aggressive human behaviors, calling tendencies to gang up
Herding behavior; animals in groups will act differently than one animal acting alone.3
This concept of mobbing was based on his observations of groups of ducks that gathered together to attack a stronger predator.
Dr. Albert Bondura, a Canadian psychologist of the 1960’s conducted a series of laboratory experiments examining the causes of violent behavior. Using control groups he had children witness adults punching a Bobo doll. He was able to prove that the children who witness these aggressive acts were 16-17 times more likely to show aggression than children exposed to the non-aggressive act. Bandura developed a theory about how people learn called the Social Cognitive Theory. The theory proposes that children learn violence by watching other people engage in violence.
In 1969 a popular Swedish talk show host Peter Paul Heineman reintroduced the term “mobbing”. This was brought on by a broadcast in which he discussed his observations of a youth being attacked by a group of children. This attack occurred during the Civil Rights Movement and attracted widespread attention.
In 1983 three Norwegian youths committed suicide as a result of peer abuse. As a result the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research assembled a team of researchers from the University of Bergen. One of these researchers was Dr. Dan Olweus who later developed the Bullying Prevention Program now used in schools worldwide. Olweus and his colleagues concluded that,
One of the main factors in determining who might be a victim is the number and degree of social connections. Friends are a primary factor in determining bullying Incidents as youth who are not well connected are at risk of victimization.4
Viewing the progression of our perception of bullying and research seems to call for a solution to the end to bullying.
Comments: