The influence of norms and social identities on children's responses to bullying

• Published in: British Journal of Educational Psychology
• Main Authors: Jones, Sian, Bombieri, Lucia, Livingstone, Andrew G., Manstead, Antony S. R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2011
• Subjects: Stirling; Orca
• Online Access: https://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/9336; https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12289/9336; https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.2011.02023.x

Item previously deposited in Cardiff University, ORCA repository at: http://orca.cf.ac.uk/id/eprint/30955 and in University of Stirling, STORRE repository at: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/10085 Sian Jones - orcid:0000-0002-2399-1017 orcid:0000-0002-2399-1017 Item not available in this repository Background - Research on bullying increasingly focuses on social processes, showing that group membership affects children's responses to bullying scenarios. Additionally, correlational research has shown links between norms of cooperation and prosocial behaviour, and between competition and more aggressive forms of behaviour. Aims - This paper focuses on how children's peer group membership affects their group‐based emotions in response to an intergroup bullying incident, and the action tendencies that these emotions predict, in the context of different background norms (for competitive or cooperative behaviour). Sample - Italian schoolchildren, 10–13 years old (N= 128, 65 males) took part in this study. Methods - Participants were randomly assigned to the group of a perpetrator, target, or third‐party group member described in a scenario. Next, they played a game designed to induce a cooperative, competitive, or neutral norm, and read the scenario. They then answered a questionnaire measuring their group‐based emotions. Results - Results underscored the role of norms and group processes in responses to bullying. In particular, children exposed to a cooperative norm expressed less pride and more regret and anger about the bullying than those in other conditions. Conclusions - This study indicates that the influence peer groups have on bullying may be tempered by the introduction of a cooperative normative context to the school setting. The first author gratefully acknowledges support from the Economic and Social Research Council (award number: PTA‐031‐2006‐00548). This study is part of a larger research project conducted by the second author. 82 pub pub 2