Bully for You!

Bullying in schools has usually been considered a pathology, perhaps the result of trauma suffered by the perp. Primatology suggests otherwise. Competition for status is prominent among many of our close animal relatives, and that status usually confers reproductive advantages vital to the (genetic) struggle for existence. New studies indicate that high school is not so very different, as reported by Tara Parker-Pope in the New York Times.

For many teenagers navigating the social challenges of high school, the ultimate goal is to become part of the “popular” crowd.

But new research suggests that the road to high school popularity can be treacherous, and that students near the top of the social hierarchy are often both perpetrators and victims of aggressive behavior involving their peers.

The latest findings, being published this month in The American Sociological Review, offer a fascinating glimpse into the social stratification of teenagers. The new study, along with related research from the University of California, Davis, also challenges the stereotypes of both high school bully and victim.

Highly publicized cases of bullying typically involve chronic harassment of socially isolated students, but the latest studies suggest that various forms of teenage aggression and victimization occur throughout the social ranks as students jockey to improve their status.

The findings contradict the notion of the school bully as maladjusted or aggressive by nature. Instead, the authors argue that when it comes to mean behavior, the role of individual traits is “overstated,” and much of it comes down to concern about status.

This probably doesn't shock those who remember high school, or at least the movie Mean Girls.

In our primate relatives, these contests may involve alliances and strategy, but they are settled by violence. In high school, violence happens, but a mean rumor or facebook picture might do the trick.

If bullying isn't a pathology, does that mean we ought to tolerate it? I don't think so. Murder, robbery and rape, history suggests, are pretty "natural" too, but we don't tolerate them. It does mean that our strategies for combatting it need to be rethought.

Most bullying takes place among those competing most directly for status, and the closer one gets to the pinacle of popularity, the more likely one is to be victim and perp. At the very top, though, bullying is neither faced much nor perpetrated - there isn't any payoff in it. Mean girls fans may recall that the Lindsay Lohan character was golden until she stepped on the alpha female's toes (by dating her ex).

Of course the meek and weak do become incidental victims - probably mostly of those who lack the status or other capabilities to challenge the elite. Despite certain memes propagated in Glee, picking on the High School Quarterback is rarely a good strategy - if he doesn't kick your ass, the rest of the football team will.

I myself wasn't bullied much in high school. I have occasionally thought that that might be because of my status as ace member of the chess team, but more plausible was the fact that I was a low value target - mostly a non-competitor in the status wars.