"Bullies are typically attempting to promote or assert an identity rather than defend one. Their behavior is typically predatory rather than dispute related. Bullies prey on vulnerable targets, usually in the presence of third parties, in order to show how tough they are (see Olweus, 1978). For the bully, dominating the victim is an accomplishment, a way of demonstrating power to himself and others. In case of jealousy, a person may intentionally harm another person who has not attacked or wronged them in any way. Both justice and self-image concerns can produce an aggressive response when someone is jealous. When people think that someone has received an unfair share of some reward, they may attempt to restore equity by harming the person, even when that person is not held responsible for the injustice. We have referred to this behavior as "redistributive justice" (to distinguish it from "retributive justice"). Thus, an employee may blame the supervisor who gives a raise to someone else but attempt to produce unfavorable outcomes for the coworker who received a raise. Jealous people may also attempt to harm the object of jealousy for purposes of downward comparison (Wills, 1981). They may engage in aggressive behavior that lowers the standing of the target on some dimension, thereby providing a favorable comparison for the actor. They put themselves "up" by putting others "down". Wills (1981) suggested that downward comparison was an alternative explanation for the displacement effects obtained in experiments testing frustration-aggression theory. He noted that investigations of displaced aggression, scapegoating, and hostility generalization all involve some challenge to the participants' identities."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Ibid, pp. 20-21
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bullying
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Bullying
148 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Bullying →
Related Quotes
"Often one person can steel another, and another and another, until many are working together. You don’t have to form …"
"Republicans in Congress have failed the country more than anyone else. They had several opportunities to rid us and t…"
"Harry Truman famously said, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen,” and he had a sign on his desk that…"
"Regina Huerter, Director of Juvenile Diversion for the Denver District Attorney's office, compiled a report on Columb…"
"Drill sergeants known how to deal with bullies... "Want to stop a bully? Man the fuck up and punch that motherfucker …"
"Bullying was so deeply ingrained that, as the American Psychology Association Monitor wrote, "Columbine students said…"
"One reason why our society has failed to curb bullying is that we like bullies. Hell, we are bullies. Research has sh…"
"I don't know a single useful lesson that I or anyone else ever learned from getting bullied- it only brought shame an…"
"I know that I learned far more valuable lessons when I was the bully than when I was bullied. The lesson was simple: …"
"Take The Power Out Of Bullying"