Mal Educaion - Bullying

<b>[shando] "... based on the assumption that the causes of bullying behavior are rooted in the instinctual or societal urge to find one's place in the social (tribal) pecking order."</b>

On the plus side you recognize that a complex behaviour like bullying has multiple causes. It doesn't have to, but the odds of it having only one cause seem pretty small, intuitively. And besides, if we looked we would probably fine, quickly, that there are already at least two known causes.

On the minus side you go on to suppose that all of these (proximate) causes of bullying derive from a single (ultimate) cause.

This is much like assuming that there is a smallest possible particle. Conceptually we can ALWAYS divide a small thing into several smaller things. Can we do this physically? So far, we always have been successful, if we tried hard enough.

<b>LB: On the minus side you go on to suppose that all of these (proximate) causes of bullying derive from a single (ultimate) cause.
</b>

You got it - that is the theory I want to test.

Now, please help me build the means to do that. Specifically, I need help designing the modules that will allow students to engage in a variety of harmless exercises that will result in each of the students implicitly learning their position in the relationship hierarchy.

<b>[shando] "These seminars would be based on the assumption that the causes of bullying behavior are rooted in the instinctual or societal urge to find one's place in the social (tribal) pecking order.

- that is the theory I want to test.

Now, please help me build the means to do that. Specifically, I need help designing the modules that will allow students to engage in a variety of harmless exercises that will result in each of the students implicitly learning their position in the relationship hierarchy."</b>


Perhaps the first step in such a quest is to survey the existing literature to see what sort of support and refutation (I will be surprised if <u>only</u> one or the other exists) resources are already in place. (A google search is probably going to miss some of it, but is so much easier than 'doing it right' it is the way I would start.) As always the search terms are critical to your success. Use the wrong magic incantation and your search spell will return mostly garbage.

However, I can tell you right now that your 'single ultimate cause' theory is weak at best. I have never 'felt an urge' to find my place in the peckERing order. I might be the only exception, but probably not. Of course, the presence of exceptions is not an automatic show stopper for your overall plan. In fact, it probably is a plus, because it menans that you don't have to fix <u>everyone</u>.

***

Maybe the first chore would be to develop an 'index' that ranks each individual as to how strongly she wants to 'fit in'. Perhaps nothing more than a simple ten-scale? But if you think something more elaborate is needed, let me know.

Then a process (test, questionnaire, survey, or some such) needs to be developed to find each individual's index number. This step will be as hard as the first was easy. One of the more difficult things will be to get the worst bullies to cooperate with you rather than pound you into the ground.

LB

Thank you for your helpful advice - much appreciated.

<b>LB: I have never 'felt an urge' to find my place in the peckERing order.</b>

Because of the term you are using, I infer that you think sex/puberty is probably involved in some causative role. I suspect that you are correct.

<b>LB: develop an 'index' that ranks each individual as to how strongly she wants to 'fit in'</b>

This is a good idea, but I expect that it has to be intuited from indirect questions. I notice that whenever I have seen kids asked "Why did you do it?" while being interviewed about bullying behavior their response is some variation of "I don't know."

IOW, I don't think that kids can tell you directly how strongly they want to "fit in".

<b>LB: ... your 'single ultimate cause' theory is weak at best.</b>

I don't think that there is a "single ultimate cause" although I suppose "root cause" could be defined that way. I am thinking more "unifying principle" when I use "root cause".

<b>LB: first step in such a quest is to survey the existing literature</b>

To start this process, I think I will try to contact that authors of the paper referenced at the beginning of this thread, and ask them their opinion of this proposal and seek their advice on how to proceed.

Kids caught bullying most likely do not <u>fully</u> understand their motivation. But the parts they do understand are going to be seen as 'ugly' by most people and they mostly know this. And thus they lie.

So indirect is probably our only choice. Boy does that suck.

***

Just be prepared to discover that there are two or more unifying principles.

<b>[shando] "... I infer that you think sex/puberty is probably involved in some causative role."</b>

Yep.

And all the other behaviors we exhibit that are rooted in or at least influenced by an instinctual motivation or impetus of some sort. Puberty hit me just about as hard as it did everyone, I suppose. It sure felt that way at least. But I responded to it differently. At least it seemed that way, as I watched my peers deal with it. Some did in fact go the bully route.

<ul>I went down lover's lane (in the sexual sense as well as in the various non-sexual ways that people love each other), so I was not a fighter. But also, I wasn't one of those 'boy flies' that were always buzzing around the captain of the cheerleaders either. <ul>
I actually had a date with her once, and we got to make out BIG time . It was so very cool in some ways, but ... overall it was a disappointing experience. And very surprising because of that.</ul>
I did OK in the girlfriend department, especially in college. Also, most of my friends were girls. It was strange (and I suppose I was too), but fun (I hope I was too).

Girls are weirder than boys by a long shot. For example, don't let them lie to you about not liking f*rt jokes, or about lighting them. I suppose that weirdness is why I often enjoyed their company, as friends, rather than the company of boys.

But on the other hand girls don't like to get sweaty and dirty working on cars and neutron generators and other stuff. Well, not very often. And what's with all that shopping?

So boys, as friends, are not all bad. But they really do look at you funny when you never want to play football with them. When I had to chose between playing football and going shopping ... I'd study for a test.</ul>Perhaps instinct will turn out to be your 'unifying principle'? But even so, instinct A is likely to push in the opposite direction as instinct B. Thus we are probably back to 'two or more'.