2-037 - But What Do *They* Say? The Role of Group Dynamics in Bullying Behaviors and Bystanders Responses to Bullying

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Bullying is a social phenomenon as it involves the broader social groups that set norms about, engage in, or witness (as bystanders) bullying incidents (Salmivalli, 2014; Veenstra et al., 2013). As such, peers play a pivotal role in bullying incidents, particularly through their attitudes and behaviors that promote or reject bullying. Proximal group-members are well-positioned to set anti-bullying norms or intervene in a number of ways that challenge acts of bullying, thus helping to reinforce anti-bullying norms (Brenick & Halgunseth, 2017; Palmer & Abbott, 2017). However, despite young people having negative attitudes about bullying, bullying still occurs regularly and there are low levels of positive bystander intervention (Quirk & Campbell, 2015). Thus, it is imperative to determine what factors predict decreased bullying and increased positive intervention so as to contribute to school practice and policy aimed at reducing bullying in schools.

To do so, this symposium presents three studies that assess intra- and inter-group bullying contexts across three countries—each addressing group-dynamics within bullying. Study 1, conducted in the Netherlands, investigates the mismatch between children’s anti-bullying attitudes and behaviors by examining the emergence of bullying in environments characterized by anti-bullying peer-group norms. Study 2 explores the influence of group membership on British children’s bystander responses to intergroup social exclusion using a novel measure of actual bystander behavior. Study 3 assesses the effectiveness of social-emotional skills and intergroup contact-based interventions in promoting prosocial—and decreasing passive or negative—bystander responses of Palestinian- and Jewish-Israeli youth in situations of intergroup exclusion.

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chair

• Sally B. Palmer, Goldsmiths, University of London

Discussant

• Drew Nesdale, Griffith University

Individual Presentations

• A Solution to the Attitude-Behavior Puzzle in Bullying Research – A Computational Model of Group Dynamics in School Classes - Presenting Author: Julia Torres, University of Groningen; Non-Presenting Author: Michael Mäs, University of Groningen; Non-Presenting Author: Gerine Lodder, University of Groningen; Non-Presenting Author: Rene Veenstra, University of Groningen

• Bystander Responses to Intergroup Social Exclusion Using the Cyberball Paradigm - Presenting Author: Sally B. Palmer, Goldsmiths, University of London; Non-Presenting Author: Jellie Sierksma, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Non-Presenting Author: Nataly Kaufman, University College London; Non-Presenting Author: Adam Rutland, Goldsmiths, University of London; Non-Presenting Author: Ayse Sule Yuksel, Goldsmiths University of London

• Stand By or Stand Up? Interventions to Promote Prosocial Intergroup Bystander Behavior Among Youth in the Middle-East - Presenting Author: Alaina Brenick, University of Connecticut; Non-Presenting Author: Samantha Lawrence, University of Connecticut; Non-Presenting Author: Daniell Carvalheiro, University of Connecticut; Non-Presenting Author: Rony Berger, Ben Gurion University of the Negev