Victims’ Goal Understanding, Uncertainty Reduction, and Perceptions in Cyberbullying: Theoretical Evidence From Three Experiments

Victims’ Goal Understanding, Uncertainty Reduction, and Perceptions in Cyberbullying: Theoretical Evidence From Three Experiments

Bullying, Victimization, Technological Affordances, Uncertainty, Goals, Interpersonal Communication

Cyberbullying is repetitive and aggressive behavior transmitted through mediated channels aimed at directing malice toward a victim with a to-harm goal. Three experiments manipulated a cyberbully’s
identity uncertainty—each employing different stimuli and scenarios—and assessed individuals’
responses to being victimized. Experiment 1 demonstrated victims’ information-seeking about a
bully’s identity and motives, emotional valence, and social attractiveness to the bully depend on victims’ uncertainties about the bully’s motives and identity. Experiment 2 examined victims’ particular inferences about a bully’s goals, revealing victims find bullies more socially attractive when they think a bully is trying to personally attack them or gain status, but only if the bully is anonymous. Experiment 3 aimed to replicate findings with a modified method and an extended rationale explaining why inferring attack and upward-mobility goals enhances the attractiveness
of an unknown bully, showing that victims’ ability to cope with the bullying episode is a critical
mediator.

Nicholas A. Palomares & V. Skye Wingate

https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/25/4/253/5858237

Oxford University Press

27 October 2019

Sri Wahyuni

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English

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Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 25 (2020)