title: The influence of norms and social identities on children's responses to bullying.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Research on bullying increasingly focuses on social processes, showing that group membership affects children's responses to bullying scenarios. Additionally, correlational research has shown links between norms of cooperation and prosocial behaviour, and between competition and more aggressive forms of behaviour.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This paper focuses on how children's peer group membership affects their group-based emotions in response to an intergroup bullying incident, and the action tendencies that these emotions predict, in the context of different background norms (for competitive or cooperative behaviour).
  
  
  METHODS
  Italian schoolchildren, 10-13 years old (N= 128, 65 males) took part in this study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were randomly assigned to the group of a perpetrator, target, or third-party group member described in a scenario. Next, they played a game designed to induce a cooperative, competitive, or neutral norm, and read the scenario. They then answered a questionnaire measuring their group-based emotions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results underscored the role of norms and group processes in responses to bullying. In particular, children exposed to a cooperative norm expressed less pride and more regret and anger about the bullying than those in other conditions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study indicates that the influence peer groups have on bullying may be tempered by the introduction of a cooperative normative context to the school setting.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Wales, UK. Jonesse21@cardiff.ac.uk
authors.forename: Siân E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bombieri
authors.forename: Andrew G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Livingstone
authors.forename: Antony S R
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Manstead
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D058445:Bullying / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D012919:Social Behavior; D012933:Social Identification; D012945:Social Values; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*