The Social Production of Bullying: Expanding the Repertoire of Approaches to Group Dynamics

Bullying research has widely included group dynamics as contextual factors. However, explanations addressing the causes of bullying predominantly emphasise individual dysfunctions related to aggression and empathy. Analysing qualitative data from Norwegian schools, this article explores four different group dynamics that may produce bullying behaviours as well as deactivate empathy. Drawing on theories of social hierarchies and ingroups/outgroups, the article offers new approaches to understanding the ways in which the intense markings of social distinctions between positions and cliques in peer culture represent significant social driving forces in school bullying.