Bullying can be done individually or by a group, called
mobbing,
[4] in which the bully may have one or more followers who are willing to assist the primary bully or who reinforce the bully by providing positive feedback such as laughing.
[5] Bullying in school and the workplace is also referred to as "peer abuse".
[6] Robert W. Fuller has analyzed bullying in the context of
rankism.
[7] The Swedish-Norwegian researcher
Dan Olweus says bullying occurs when a person is "exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons",
[8] and that negative actions occur "when a person intentionally inflicts injury or discomfort upon another person, through physical contact, through words or in other ways".
[8] Individual bullying is usually characterized by a person behaving in a certain way to gain
power over another person.
Rationalizations of such behavior sometimes include differences of social class, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, appearance, behavior, body language, personality, reputation, lineage, strength, size, or ability.
Studies have shown that
envy and resentment may be motives for bullying.
[32] Research on the self-esteem of bullies has produced equivocal results.
[33][34] While some bullies are arrogant and narcissistic,
[35] they can also use bullying as a tool to conceal shame or anxiety or to boost self-esteem: by demeaning others, the abuser feels empowered.
[36] Bullies may bully out of jealousy or because they themselves are bullied.
[37] Psychologist
Roy Baumeister asserts that people who are prone to abusive behavior tend to have inflated but fragile egos. Because they think too highly of themselves, they are frequently offended by the criticisms and lack of deference of other people, and react to this disrespect with violence and insults.
[38][
full citation needed]
Researchers have identified other risk factors such as depression
[39] and
personality disorders,
[40] as well as quickness to anger and use of force, addiction to aggressive behaviors, mistaking others' actions as hostile, concern with preserving
self-image, and engaging in obsessive or rigid actions.
[41] A combination of these factors may also be causes of this behavior.
[42] In one study of youth, a combination of antisocial traits and depression was found to be the best predictor of youth violence, whereas video game violence and
television violence exposure were not predictive of these behaviors.
Contrarily, some researchers have suggested that some bullies are psychologically strongest and have high social standing among their peers, while their targets are emotionally distressed and socially marginalized.
[46] Peer groups often promote the bully's actions, and members of these peer groups also engage in behaviors, such as mocking, excluding, punching, and insulting one another as a source of entertainment.
[24] Other researchers also argued that a minority of the bullies, those who are not in-turn bullied, enjoy going to school, and are least likely to take days off sick.
Bystanders
Often, bullying takes place in the presence of a large group of relatively uninvolved bystanders. In many cases, it is the bully's ability to create the illusion they have the support of the majority present that instills the fear of "speaking out" in protestation of the bullying activities being observed by the group. Unless the "bully mentality" is effectively challenged in any given group in its early stages, it often becomes an accepted, or supported,
norm within the group.
[52][53]
Unless action is taken, a "
culture of bullying" is often perpetuated within a group for months, years, or longer.
[54]
Bystanders who have been able to establish their own "friendship group" or "support group" have been found to be far more likely to opt to speak out against bullying behavior than those who have not.
Testosterone production
Statistically controlling for age and pubertal status, results indicated that on average verbally bullied girls produced less testosterone, and verbally bullied boys produced more testosterone than their nonbullied counterparts.
Bullying is typically ongoing and not isolated behaviour. Common responses are to try to ignore it, to confront the bullies, or to turn to an authority figure.
Ignoring it often does nothing to stop the bullying continuing, and it can become worse over time.
