Bullies aren't all sociopaths — most are just trying to climb the social ladder, study says

If you were ever bullied as a child or teenager, the chances are that you were told at some point that bullies deserve your pity: That they have low self-esteem, are victims of abuse themselves or are acting out of mental illness. "Our study differs from most of the previous work on adolescent bullying in that we don't focus solely on the individual characteristics of young people, but instead pay attention to the broader social context in which adolescents are situated," Dr. Cassie McMillan, professor of sociology and anthropology at Northeastern University, told Salon by email. Thus, bullying, McMillan argued, can be motivated by individuals within the same social group competing for "social rewards" — for example, "the starting quarterback position or the interest of a potential romantic partner." He said that subsequent scholars learned through their research that "some bullies are actually quite popular and socially accepted," and that through research he conducted with colleagues it was revealed that "aggression escalates as adolescents gain social status, until they approach the pinnacle of their school's social hierarchy — when aggression is no longer needed and they desist." He said that another paper he had written looked at high school yearbooks and deduced that aggressive behavior works: "kids who are more aggressive are more likely to join high status social circles — the cliques of the prom royalty, the best looking, etc."