Machiavellian kids: Understanding the moral reasoning of bullies

© 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved

Far from being social oafs, many bullies are confident, popular, and socially-savvy. And then what's missing? Empathy, moral engagement, and a sense of responsibility towards others.

According to an one-time stereotype, people peachy others considering they have poor self-esteem and lack basic social skills. They don't know how to get what they want through negotiation, so they use aggression instead.

Is it truthful?

Maybe — for some individuals. But many bullies — dubbed "pure bullies" past social scientists — opens in a new windoware confident and socially successful. They are pop, and considered "cool" by their peers (Guy et al 2019).

Some bullies may even exist quite skilled at "heed-reading," the power to interpret the emotions, goals, and beliefs of others. They accept a good grasp of social norms. They know what other people desire, like, and expect.

But you tin be a good heed-reader and still be deficient in empathy. You can understand social norms, and all the same feel it'due south acceptable to violate them.

And here, perhaps, is where the average bully comes up brusk.

For case, in a study of over 700 American children, Gianluca Gini and his colleagues establish that bullies, despite existence quite competent at reasoning well-nigh beliefs, outcomes, and the moral permissibility of different actions, were "woefully deficient" in moral pity compared to victims and children who defend victims (Gini et al 2011).

And a study of Italian adolescents reports that boys who bullied were more likely to receive low scores on a test of empathic reactivity (Gini et al 2007).

Worth taking seriously?

I think and so.

Studies propose that some bullies are opens in a new windowmore probable than other kids to develop hating personality disorder, a psychiatric condition characterized past a condone for the rights and feelings of others.

And not surprisingly, many bullies have distinctive attitudes about violence, cruelty, and man nature. Permit'south have a closer look.

How bullies feel about bullying

In a study of Italian and Spanish children, researchers asked 4th and 8th class students to identify the bullies and victims in their classes.

Next, researchers presented each kid with a visual story—told with cartoons—about peer bullying (Menesini et al 2003).

The story included 10 different scenes of bullying. Each scene portrayed an imbalance of power between slap-up and victim. All characters were fatigued with neutral expressions.

During the presentation, researchers asked kids to place with the great:

"If you were this boy or daughter in the story" (pointing to the bully), "would y'all feel (guilty, aback, indifferent, or proud)? Why would you lot feel this way?"

Peer-nominated bullies were more likely to say they would feel pride or indifference.

Bullies were too more egoistic, explaining their emotional responses in terms of the positive consequences for themselves (Menesini et al 2003).

For example, bullies might justify their pride or indifference by proverb

"I would feel neat because I got the attention of other kids" or
"I wouldn't feel guilty because information technology was a joke."

How do bullies avoid feelings of shame and guilt?

Perhaps some bullies suffer from a neurological arrears — a brain malfunction that prevents them from feeling or caring about the pain of others (Blair 2007).

But there are other possible explanations.

Peradventure bullies are only good at rationalizing their misconduct.

Moral disengagement

Moral disengagement is the process by which people convince themselves that bad beliefs is morally adequate (Bandura 1991).

Stanford psychologist Albert Bandura has argued that aggressors may "turn off" their sense of guilt or shame by invoking one of several mechanisms of moral disengagement, including

Blaming or/and dehumanizing the victim
Displacing or diffusing responsibility (east.g., "He made me practice it")
Euphemistic labeling, (e.g., "Just a bit of fun")
Exonerative comparison (eastward.g., "What I did isn't as bad as what others have done")

Do bullies employ such mechanisms? Gianluca Gini tested this idea by asking immature adolescents how strongly they agreed or disagreed with statements like

"Some kids deserve to be treated like animals," and
"Kids cannot be blamed for misbehaving if their friends pressured them to do it."

Peer-identified bullies showed the highest levels of agreement. They were joined past kids who regularly helped bullies (by catching or property the victim) and by kids who regularly laughed at victims.

The kids who wereleastlikely to agree with the statements were the defenders — kids whom other students identified every bit regularly continuing up for the victims of bullying (Gini 2006).

Is this a common pattern?

Yes. Links between bullying and moral disengagement accept been documented in many societies — in Europe, E Asia, Australia, and the Due north America (Teng et al 2020; Wang et al 2017; Runions et al 2019; Killer et al 2019).

And in that location'southward more.

Machiavellian reasoning

Mechanisms of moral disengagement permit people to harm others without suffering the pangs of conscience.

But what sensibilities govern the conscience?

In cultures throughout the globe, it's normal for children to develop a sense of right and wrong that is grounded in fairness, kindness, and responsibility towards others.

This moral conscience acts every bit a restraint against taking actions merely because they selfishly rewarding. Y'all can't justify beliefs merely because information technology pleasurable, or furthers your ain self-interests.

But of course people sometimes do attempt to justify their behavior in this fashion, arguing that it's acceptable to violate normal rules of morality as long equally it benefitsthem. As the political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli infamously wrote, "The end justifies the ways."

Psychologists use the term "Machiavellianism" to refer to an private's tendency to endorse these attitudes, and to exploit and manipulate others for personal gain (Al Aïn et al 2013).

Machiavellian attitudes are very cynical, so yous might not expect them to develop until machismo. But — on the contrary — they are well-documented in kids as young as 9 or 10. How do nosotros know?

Because of researchers like Eleni Andreou. Years ago, Andreou screened 186 unproblematic school children in Greece. She presented the kids with a series of questions about homo nature, and about the acceptability of manipulating people to become what you want.

For case, she asked kids how strongly they agreed or disagreed with statements about the intrinsic goodness of human beings. Examples:

"Most people are good and kind."
"Successful people are mostly honest and good."

She as well asked kids to charge per unit their agreement with statements about the acceptability of manipulating other people:

"Sometimes you lot have to hurt other people to get what you want."
"Sometimes you have to cheat a little to get what you want."

What did kids say?

It depended — in part — on a child's tendency to bully others.

Kids who were bullies wereless likely to concord with positive statements most human being nature.

And they weremore than likely to embrace the acceptability of harming others, or otherwise engaging in manipulative beliefs (Andreou 2004).

Other studies — in Scotland, Chile, and Germany — have reported the same pattern. Not every kid who endorses Machiavellian beliefs is a bully, but bullies are more than likely to do so (Sutton et al 2000; Allroggen et al 2016; Berger and Caravita 2016; Götz et al 2020).

What can we exercise?

Information technology's hardly news that bullies lack compassion, or that they rationalize their cruelties. But this inquiry tells us something more: that children begin to show these tendencieswhile they are yet in uncomplicated school.

That's troubling, of grade. But it isn't reason to surrender. Research suggests nosotros can help children develop empathic sensation. Read more virtually it in my article, opens in a new window"Instruction empathy: Testify-based tips for fostering empathy in children."

In improver, it's of import to understand that there are at to the lowest degree two different types of bully, and each may do good from a different approach to treatment. For more information, encounter these Parenting Scientific discipline articles

"Understanding pure bullies: Aggressors who are socially-savvy, pop, and smart"
When bullies get bullied past others: Agreement "bully-victims"

Machiavellian kids: Understanding the moral reasoning of bullies

© 2022 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved

How bullies feel about bullying

Moral disengagement

Machiavellian reasoning

What can we exercise?

More than reading about the development of morality

References: Bullies and moral reasoning

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