The Good, the Bad, and the Borderline: Separating Teasing from Bullying

Abstract

In recent years, the research on teasing and bullying has grown dramatically and is coupled with a rise in the development of intervention programs targeted to teachers, principals, and parents. Ultimately the goal of these programs is to reduce or eliminate teasing and bullying within school settings. The aim of this project is to clarify how teasing and bullying are interrelated, but can be two very distinct acts with different motivations, goals, and outcomes, in order to provide researchers and educators with a better grasp of the differences between the two. To accomplish these goals, this paper examines the definitions and research on bullying. Next, teasing is described, analyzed and contrasted with bullying to provide educators a way to differentiate between the two different behaviors. Finally, this work seeks to provide educators with pragmatic considerations to assist them in identifying the differences between bullying and teasing behaviors so that any intervention program chosen for their educational setting can provide the desired result of reducing negative outcomes associated with bullying or antisocial teasing.

Keywords:

• Teasing
• Bullying
• Humor
• Bullying
• Intervention
• Children

Acknowledgements

This works was supported, in part, by a Reese Phifer Fellowship from the Department of Communication Studies. The authors would like to thank Melanie Booth-Butterfield, Sean Horan, and the anonymous reviewers for their insightful suggestions on this work.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Carol Bishop Mills

Carol Bishop Mills (Ph.D, Purdue), is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Alabama

Amy Muckleroy Carwile

Amy Muckleroy Carwile is a doctoral candidate in the College of Communication at the University of Alabama