Bullying – A Rational Choice It seems like everybody is worried
about bullying. The media is replete with stories about bullying
and the negative effects it has on its victims — effects that
include anxiety and decreased self-worth. It has been suggested
that victimization by bullies has led to self-harm, suicide and
even school shootings. Often, bullying is treated as
pathological. The bully has a disease that needs to be cured.
According to this view, the way to stop bullying is to discover
the cause of the bully’s “sickness” and then eliminate this
cause. Perhaps this is the wrong approach. Research shows that
most bullies — excluding those who have not previously been
victims of bullying themselves — do not suffer from mental or
emotional problems. They do not have problems with experiencing
empathy or with theory of mind. Maybe bullies are not victims of
a disorder. Bullies might simply be behaving rationally. They
have weighed the costs and benefits of bullying and have
determined that the rewards outwe