Childhood Bullying and Social Dilemmas

• In Event: Issues and Interventions in School Safety

Abstract

Children who witness bullying rarely defend victims possibly because they are stuck in “social dilemmas.” Social dilemmas are situations in which individual interests are at odds with group interests. The study tested two hypotheses: 1) individual and group factors are associated with behavior in bullying situations; and 2) attitudes, group norms, and social dilemmas each help to predict behavior in bullying situations. Participants were 292 middle school students who were surveyed about their peers’ behavior, their attitudes about bullying, group norms, and social dilemma conditions. Data were analyzed using multi-level modeling. The primary findings were, in general, consistent with the two hypotheses. The research suggests that social dilemma dynamics may be important group factors in predicting behavior in bullying situations.

Author

• Amelia Kohm, The University of Chicago