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Drue Stroud
Professor Padgett
ENGL-1102
03 April 2014
The Psychological Explanation for Cyber Bullying
Since the beginning of time there has always been a bully, as time has progressed
bullies have come up with new ways and resources to attack their victims. However,
since technology has come along a new type of bullying has transformed itself into a very
common issue. Cyber bullying has given a new way of bullying; the bully is able to hide
behind an imaginative wall on the Internet. I believe that there is a psychological illness
that causes these cyber bullies to prey on their victims.
Rhiarne Pronk and Melanie Zimmer-Gembeck conducted a study on cyber
aggression and wrote a journal called, Its Mean about cyber aggression and how the
victims of it have described it. In this study they compare the experiences and how they
differ from males and female. While conducting this research they tested many of
theories and one theory considered females cyber aggressors have their own reasons
behind what they do. For example, while working with the patients Pronk states, Most
participants described relational aggression as a behavior that assists in climbing the
social ladder. In this article they state that they found the motivations for the adolescents
to be three things, social dynamics, meaning power and dominance; aggressors
emotional state, meaning jealousy and anger; and victim characteristics, meaning lack of
social appeal and emotionality. I agree with Pronk and Zimmer-Gembeck, because my
Comment [AP1]: Okay, can you be more specific in the beginning here?
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original thoughts on the motivation behind cyber aggression were popularity and social
dominance.
Corrie L. Schoffstall and Robert Cohen, wrote a journal called Cyber aggression;
the relation between online offenders and offline social competence after conducting a
study on adolescents. In the journal Cohen states, The use of computers may also
enhance collaborative learning experiences. However, computer use does not relate only
to positive social experiences. With the increased use of this technology, a new form of
aggression has emerged, often termed cyber aggression. This form of aggression may
be extraordinarily damaging to a childs adjustment. For example, peer aggression can
now intrude into the home, which before could serve as a private sanctuary from these
attacks. I agree with this statement because if a teen is being bullied at school they cant
get away once they get home. Therefore, it is very damaging to that teen. Most of their
studies were theoretical and were based on numbers and although I do not agree with
using numbers to judge how a situation will affect a person, but their research and tests
seem to make sense to me. In their results Schoffstall states, the findings suggested that
children who report aggressing against others online, regardless of whether or not they
engaged in traditional forms of aggression, experienced social consequences. I support
this because, Ive always thought that there is no way to get away from cyber aggression,
even if the victim tells an adult they usually are not taken seriously and they are normally
socially ostracized.
Rina Bonanno and Shelley Hymel conduct a research and wrote an article on,
Cyber Bullying and Internalizing Difficulties: Above and Beyond the Impact of
traditional Forms of Bullying. In the article they compare traditional bulling to cyber
Comment [AP2]: Good point.
Comment [AP3]: Im not sure what you mean here.
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bullying, obviously from the name, and their findings are very interesting to me. Bonanno
says in their conclusion, Given the ever increasing accessibility to technology in both
schools and homes, coupled with evidence that students who are cyber victimized are less
likely to report or seek help than teens who were victimized by more traditional means,
the problem of cyber bullying has the potential to escalate exponentially unless it is
addressed. I think this goes hand in hand with the last paragraph because adolescents are
less likely to report the bullying to anyone because of the social consequences that occur
in response to it.
Jing Wang, Ronald Iannotti, and Jeremy Luk wrote an article showing the process
of their research called, Patterns of adolescent bullying behaviors: Physical, verbal,
exclusion, rumor, and cyber. In this article they compare and contrast every type of
bullying. They write that about how the different types of aggressions affect adolescents
differently. In the conclusion Wang writes, Differences in externalizing problems were
found across the latent classes, suggesting that increased co-occurrence of subtypes of
bullying behaviors is linked to substance use and weapon carrying, which in turn calls for
the need for intervention especially among students who engage in all subtypes of
bullying behaviors. This is a little different from the point that Ive been making, but
bullying is not just caused by psychological issues it also produces psychological issues
to their victims. I completely agree with the fact that it causes weapon carrying and
substance abuse because most adults will not take bullying as seriously as it should be
taken. If it were adolescents would feel safe enough to be able to tell the adults around
them.
Comment [AP4]: Interesting.
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F-C Chang wrote an article called Relationships Among Cyberbullying, School
Bullying, and Mental Health in Taiwanese Adolescents. This article is specifically
reflects my thesis, or my original idea, because of the mental aspect in their article. I also
greatly agree with the conclusion of their findings. In the conclusion Chang wrote,
Multivariate analysis results revealed that cyber/school victims and bully-victims were
more likely to have low self-esteem, and cyber/school victims, bullies and bully-victims
were more likely to have high levels of depression. I agree with this one hundred percent
and this is where the basis of my thesis came from, the psychological background of
bullying and the act of it.
I believe that the psychological need for the popularity and the feeling of social
dominance is a psychological illness because doing and saying terrible things to innocent
people to make you look better and to make your social standing rise, that just isnt right.
I also think that there is a lot of psychological explanations behind it because they dont
have the will to come out and just show who they are to their victims, they enjoy hiding
behind a virtual wall and watching their victims from afar and watching them crumble for
their own enjoyment.
Drue,
I think you have written an interesting and well-researched paper on cyberbullying. But
after reading this, I was wondering what your central goal was of this paper. Or, in other
words, who might disagree with this thesis. You certainly bring some interesting points to
light, but I wonder how much further you could/should take this. So, what should be done
about cyberbullying? What role do school have in preventing cyberbullying? I think your
inquiry should run a little deeper. Find some conflict in the conversation.
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Work Cited
Pronk, Rhiarne E., and Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck. "It's "Mean," But What Does It
Mean to Adolescents? Relational Aggression Described by Victims, Aggressors, and
Their Peers." Journal of Adolescent Research 25 (2010): 176-204. Print.
Schoffstall, Corrie L., and Robert Cohen. "Cyber Aggression: The Relation between
Online Offenders and Offline Social Competence." Social Development 20.3
(2011): 587-604. Print.
Bonanno, Rina A., and Shelley Hymel. "Cyber Bullying and Internalizing Difficulties:
Above and Beyond the Impact of Traditional Forms of Bullying." Journal of Youth
and Adolescence 42.5 (2013): 685-97. Print.
Wang, Jing, Ronald J. Iannotti, and Jeremy W. Luk. "Patterns of Adolescent Bullying
Behaviors: Physical, Verbal, Exclusion, Rumor, and Cyber." Journal of School
Psychology 50.4 (2012): 521-34. Print.
Chang F-C, Lee C-M, Chiu C-H, Hsi W-Y, Huang T-F, Pan Y-C. Relationships among
cyberbullying, school bullying, and mental health in Taiwanese adolescents. J Sch
Health. 2013; 83: 454-462.