Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

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.
Natural Selection and Adaptation01:15

Natural Selection and Adaptation

Natural selection, a fundamental concept in evolutionary biology, is the mechanism by which evolution is driven, favoring organisms that are best adapted to their environments. This process enhances their chances of survival and reproduction. Adaptation, a key outcome of this process, involves genetic modifications that optimize an organism's functionality under specific environmental challenges, such as extreme cold or thinner air at high altitudes.
Beyond physical adaptations, psychological...
Evolutionary Psychology01:20

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the human psyche...
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective01:23

Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective

In a study where individuals posing as strangers offered compliments and proposed casual sex to students, the responses differed significantly based on gender. Not a single woman accepted the proposal, while 70% of the men agreed. This outcome provides a useful scenario to explore through the lens of evolutionary psychology and social learning theory, highlighting the diverse perspectives on human sexual behaviors.
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
Transduction01:16

Transduction

Among the three main modes of HGT—transformation, conjugation, and transduction—transduction is unique in that it is mediated by bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses.Transduction occurs in two ways. Generalized transduction occurs during the lytic cycle of a bacteriophage infection. In this process, bacteriophages infect bacterial cells, replicate within them, and ultimately cause cell lysis, releasing newly assembled virions. Occasionally, random fragments of the bacterial genome are...
Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition01:24

Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition

A revisionist approach to Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development has brought new insights that challenge and reinterpret his established ideas. Piaget proposed that the formal operational stage, emerging in adolescence, represents the culmination of cognitive maturity. During this stage, individuals are said to develop abstract thinking, engage in systematic problem-solving, and show a form of egocentrism, believing others are as preoccupied with their behavior as they are themselves.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

An Evolutionary Perspective on Bullying and Social Power: The Roles of Cooperation and Manipulation.

Aggressive behavior·2026
Same author

Evolutionary theory and personality.

Current opinion in psychology·2025
Same author

Modeling Changes in Classroom Incivility Across Adolescence.

Journal of adolescence·2025
Same author

Are child and adolescent students more uncivil after COVID-19?

School psychology (Washington, D.C.)·2024
Same author

Adolescent psychopathic traits and adverse environments: Associations with socially adaptive outcomes.

Development and psychopathology·2024
Same author

Social Media Friendship Jealousy.

Evolutionary psychology : an international journal of evolutionary approaches to psychology and behavior·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 25, 2026

Social Defeat Stress Model for Adolescent C57BL/6 Male and Female Mice
07:15

Social Defeat Stress Model for Adolescent C57BL/6 Male and Female Mice

Published on: March 15, 2024

Is adolescent bullying an evolutionary adaptation?

Anthony A Volk1, Joseph A Camilleri, Andrew V Dane

  • 1Department of Child and Youth Studies, Brock University, Ontario, Canada. tvolk@brocku.ca

Aggressive Behavior
|February 15, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Bullying may be an evolved, adaptive strategy, not just maladaptive development. This evolutionary perspective offers new insights into bullying behavior and interventions for adolescents.

More Related Videos

Chronic Social Defeat Stress in Early Adolescent Male Mice
07:06

Chronic Social Defeat Stress in Early Adolescent Male Mice

Published on: January 24, 2025

A New Approach that Eliminates Handling for Studying Aggression and the "Loser" Effect in Drosophila melanogaster
07:19

A New Approach that Eliminates Handling for Studying Aggression and the "Loser" Effect in Drosophila melanogaster

Published on: December 30, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 25, 2026

Social Defeat Stress Model for Adolescent C57BL/6 Male and Female Mice
07:15

Social Defeat Stress Model for Adolescent C57BL/6 Male and Female Mice

Published on: March 15, 2024

Chronic Social Defeat Stress in Early Adolescent Male Mice
07:06

Chronic Social Defeat Stress in Early Adolescent Male Mice

Published on: January 24, 2025

A New Approach that Eliminates Handling for Studying Aggression and the "Loser" Effect in Drosophila melanogaster
07:19

A New Approach that Eliminates Handling for Studying Aggression and the "Loser" Effect in Drosophila melanogaster

Published on: December 30, 2015

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Adolescent Behavior

Background:

  • Bullying is a widespread global issue affecting millions of adolescents.
  • Traditional views attribute bullying to maladaptive development.
  • Negative consequences for victims are well-documented.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To challenge the maladaptive development theory of bullying.
  • To explore bullying as a potential evolved, facultative, adaptive strategy.
  • To examine the evolutionary benefits and contexts of bullying behavior.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing research on bullying.
  • Analysis of evidence supporting an evolutionary basis for bullying.
  • Examination of sex differences and species-wide prevalence in bullying.

Main Results:

  • Evidence suggests bullying may serve adolescent bullies' evolutionary goals (somatic, sexual, dominance).
  • Bullying behavior has a genetic component and is observed in nonhuman animals.
  • Bullying's adaptiveness varies depending on context and sex.

Conclusions:

  • Bullying may be, in part, an adaptive strategy with evolutionary roots.
  • An evolutionary perspective provides a novel framework for understanding bullying.
  • Future anti-bullying interventions and research should consider evolutionary factors.