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Related Concept Videos

Bullying02:04

Bullying

A modern form of aggression is bullying. As you learn in your study of child development, socializing and playing with other children is beneficial for children’s psychological development. However, as you may have experienced as a child, not all play behavior has positive outcomes. Some children are aggressive and want to play roughly. Other children are selfish and do not want to share toys. One form of negative social interactions among children that has become a national concern is bullying.
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During the 1950s, the landmark Robbers Cave experiment demonstrated that when groups must compete with one another, intergroup conflict, hostility, and even violence may result. At the Oklahoman summer camp, two troops of boys—termed the Rattlers and the Eagles—took part in a week-long tournament. During this time, their negativity culminated in derogatory name-calling, fistfights, and even vandalism and destruction of property. However, this work also revealed that such tension could be...
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The discussion of bullying highlights the problem of witnesses not intervening to help a victim. This is a common occurrence, as the following well-publicized event demonstrates. In 1964, in Queens, New York, a 19-year-old woman named Kitty Genovese was attacked by a person with a knife near the back entrance to her apartment building and again in the hallway inside her apartment building. When the attack occurred, she screamed for help numerous times and eventually died from her stab wounds.
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Related Experiment Video

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Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories
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Changing peer perceptions and victimization through classroom arrangements: a field experiment.

Yvonne H M van den Berg1, Eliane Segers, Antonius H N Cillessen

  • 1Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. y.vandenberg@psych.ru.nl

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
|September 14, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Altering classroom seating arrangements by placing less liked classmates closer together improved peer relationships and reduced bullying. This simple seating change positively impacted classroom social dynamics and student interactions.

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Area of Science:

  • Educational Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology

Background:

  • Peer affiliations and classroom climate significantly influence student well-being and academic success.
  • Understanding factors that shape positive peer interactions is crucial for effective classroom management.
  • Previous research indicates spatial proximity can affect social dynamics, but experimental evidence in classrooms is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of manipulating physical distance between classmates on peer affiliations.
  • To determine if proximity influences classroom climate, specifically likeability and problem behaviors.
  • To assess the effectiveness of seating arrangements as an intervention tool in educational settings.

Main Methods:

  • A quasi-experimental design involving 651 10-to-12-year-old students across 27 classrooms.
  • Experimental group: students with negative initial perceptions were seated closer together.
  • Control group: standard seating arrangement.
  • Peer nominations and likeability ratings were collected pre- and post-intervention.

Main Results:

  • Decreased seating distance led to increased likeability ratings, particularly for initially disliked students.
  • Significant reduction in peer-reported victimization and social withdrawal nominations in the experimental group.
  • Positive shifts in peer affiliations and classroom social dynamics were observed.

Conclusions:

  • Classroom seating arrangement is a viable tool for fostering positive peer relationships.
  • Strategic proximity can mitigate negative peer interactions, including victimization and social withdrawal.
  • Interventions targeting physical arrangement can improve overall classroom climate and social functioning.