Kathy Harder '08 (Auburn, Maine), Danielle Sclafani '08 (Barrington, R.I.), and Brandeis University graduate Juliana Marcus '07 (Clinton, N.Y.) are working with Professor of Psychology Greg Pierce and Associate Professor of Psychology Penny Yee to study relational aggression. Relational aggression, also known as emotional or social aggression, is a form of aggression in which someone uses lies, secrets, betrayals, gossiping, and other dishonest tactics to destroy or damage the relationships and social standing of others.
According to Harder, relational aggression is much like the portrayal of teenage girls in the movie Mean Girls. Indeed, relational aggression is sometimes called "female bullying" because it is most often observed in girls and peaks in expression during the middle school years. Nevertheless, recent research suggests that relational aggression is used by both men and women.
The group uses data from a variety of sources to study relational aggression. These sources include surveys taken by Hamilton students during freshman orientation and introductory psychology courses as well as studies conducted with middle and elementary school children. Harder, Sclafani and Marcus have spent their summer analyzing these data to see which types of individuals are "aggressors" and "victims," to find correlations between different types of relationships and relational aggression, to evaluate gender differences in relational aggression, and to look for links to other studies that have been conducted in this area. They are also examining the role of the family environment in relational aggression.
Furthermore, the group is researching forms of social support in relational aggression. While relational aggression certainly involves the aggressor and the victim, it also often involves a third party that offers support to either the aggressor or the victim. Harder, Sclafani and Marcus are trying to determine who receives and offers support and if someone who has been victimized by relational aggression is more likely to give support to other victims.
Understanding relational aggression is important because this form of aggression is less well-known than physical forms of aggression and therefore much more difficult to detect. Although relational aggression does not cause physical injury, it can still cause great psychological and social harm to the victim. Since the tactics and effects of relational aggression are not as obvious as those of other forms of aggression, schools and parents are not always aware of this aggression, and, when they do identify it, they do not punish this behavior in the same way that they punish physical aggression. The group hopes their research in this field will raise awareness of relational aggression and lead to school programs and parenting strategies that can help combat it.
Sclafani is a psychology major and this is her first summer of research. She says that for her senior thesis she will continue to study relational aggression. She hopes to examine the self-esteem of aggressors in order to explore why individuals are relationally aggressive. On campus, Sclafani is a psychology TA and a writing tutor. This is also Harder's first year of summer research. She says that although she was initially apprehensive about staying on campus over the summer, she has had fun working with Pierce and Yee on their research. Since she is a psychology and French double major, Harder says her thesis will probably incorporate language and psychology. Harder is also a psychology TA. Marcus majored in psychology and Spanish while at Brandeis. This year she will be working at the New England Center for Children, and hopes to eventually get a degree in clinical psychology.
-- by Nick Berry '09
According to Harder, relational aggression is much like the portrayal of teenage girls in the movie Mean Girls. Indeed, relational aggression is sometimes called "female bullying" because it is most often observed in girls and peaks in expression during the middle school years. Nevertheless, recent research suggests that relational aggression is used by both men and women.
The group uses data from a variety of sources to study relational aggression. These sources include surveys taken by Hamilton students during freshman orientation and introductory psychology courses as well as studies conducted with middle and elementary school children. Harder, Sclafani and Marcus have spent their summer analyzing these data to see which types of individuals are "aggressors" and "victims," to find correlations between different types of relationships and relational aggression, to evaluate gender differences in relational aggression, and to look for links to other studies that have been conducted in this area. They are also examining the role of the family environment in relational aggression.
Furthermore, the group is researching forms of social support in relational aggression. While relational aggression certainly involves the aggressor and the victim, it also often involves a third party that offers support to either the aggressor or the victim. Harder, Sclafani and Marcus are trying to determine who receives and offers support and if someone who has been victimized by relational aggression is more likely to give support to other victims.
Understanding relational aggression is important because this form of aggression is less well-known than physical forms of aggression and therefore much more difficult to detect. Although relational aggression does not cause physical injury, it can still cause great psychological and social harm to the victim. Since the tactics and effects of relational aggression are not as obvious as those of other forms of aggression, schools and parents are not always aware of this aggression, and, when they do identify it, they do not punish this behavior in the same way that they punish physical aggression. The group hopes their research in this field will raise awareness of relational aggression and lead to school programs and parenting strategies that can help combat it.
Sclafani is a psychology major and this is her first summer of research. She says that for her senior thesis she will continue to study relational aggression. She hopes to examine the self-esteem of aggressors in order to explore why individuals are relationally aggressive. On campus, Sclafani is a psychology TA and a writing tutor. This is also Harder's first year of summer research. She says that although she was initially apprehensive about staying on campus over the summer, she has had fun working with Pierce and Yee on their research. Since she is a psychology and French double major, Harder says her thesis will probably incorporate language and psychology. Harder is also a psychology TA. Marcus majored in psychology and Spanish while at Brandeis. This year she will be working at the New England Center for Children, and hopes to eventually get a degree in clinical psychology.
-- by Nick Berry '09
