Date of Award

Spring 2-18-2008

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Chris Koch, Ph.D

Second Advisor

Kathleen Gathercoal, Ph.D

Third Advisor

Kelly Chang, Ph.D

Abstract

There has been a wealth of research in the past decade on workplace bullying. Issues such as how to define workplace bullying, the prevalence of bullying behaviors cross-culturally, the process of bullying and the impact of bullying on individuals and organizations have been studied and debated. The majority of the focus has been from the point of view of the victim. In contrast, little research exists documenting the phenomenon of workplace bullying from the viewpoint of the perpetrator. This study offers insight into bullying cognition and motivation through inferences given by subjects after watching a series of video clips containing possible workplace or school bullying. It was hypothesized that the subjects would identify with victims of more overt forms of aggression commonly used in the workplace. Participants watched video clips that depicted workplace bullying in a group setting and then answered a questionnaire. Results indicated that respondents were more likely to identify with victims of more overt forms of bullying. They identified similarly with victims of both physical violence and rational-appearing violence.

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