Dissertation defence (Psychology): MSc Zixuan Wang
Time
4.5.2023 at 9.00 - 13.00
MSc Zixuan Wang defends her dissertation in Psychology entitled “Multiple Forms of Defending: Potential Predictors and Outcomes” at the University of Turku on 4 May 2023 at 9.00am.
The audience can participate in the defence through remote connection: https://utu.zoom.us/j/68398256190 (copy the link to the browser) Passcode: 889497.
Opponent: Professor Robert Thornberg (Linköping University, Sweden)
Custos: Associate Professor Claire Garandeau (University of Turku)
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Summary of the Doctoral Dissertation:
School bullying is a serious problem that affects many adolescents worldwide. To prevent bullying, encouraging bystanders to take protective actions, such as directly intervening to stop the bullying, comforting the victim, or reporting the incident to a teacher, can be effective. However, not all children decide to intervene. The dissertation aimed to answer why some children intervene while others dont and explore defending behavior in Chinese cultural context. People living in collectivist countries may place greater emphasis on the interests of the group rather than their own individual interests. As a result, they may be more likely to adopt non-confrontational behaviors in the face of conflict in order to maintain group harmony.
The study found that children can take various forms of defending strategy, such as directly ask the bully to stop, comforting the victim, reporting the bullying to adults, and aggressively stop the bully. For Chinese adolescents, they might also use tactics to stop the incidents. For example, pretending to shout, “here comes the teacher!” to scare away the bully. Different types of defending can have different outcomes for the defender, with assertive defending and comforting victims being safer options, while tactical defending can be risky. Children’s empathy, peer status, and even the class climate can affect how they behave when helping victims. That is, a highly empathetic and socially influential teenager, if placed in a class that values anti-bullying ideas, is more likely to engage in defending behaviors when witnessing bullying incidents. The research can help create more effective anti-bullying interventions that take into account individual differences in defending behavior.
The audience can participate in the defence through remote connection: https://utu.zoom.us/j/68398256190 (copy the link to the browser) Passcode: 889497.
Opponent: Professor Robert Thornberg (Linköping University, Sweden)
Custos: Associate Professor Claire Garandeau (University of Turku)
***
Summary of the Doctoral Dissertation:
School bullying is a serious problem that affects many adolescents worldwide. To prevent bullying, encouraging bystanders to take protective actions, such as directly intervening to stop the bullying, comforting the victim, or reporting the incident to a teacher, can be effective. However, not all children decide to intervene. The dissertation aimed to answer why some children intervene while others dont and explore defending behavior in Chinese cultural context. People living in collectivist countries may place greater emphasis on the interests of the group rather than their own individual interests. As a result, they may be more likely to adopt non-confrontational behaviors in the face of conflict in order to maintain group harmony.
The study found that children can take various forms of defending strategy, such as directly ask the bully to stop, comforting the victim, reporting the bullying to adults, and aggressively stop the bully. For Chinese adolescents, they might also use tactics to stop the incidents. For example, pretending to shout, “here comes the teacher!” to scare away the bully. Different types of defending can have different outcomes for the defender, with assertive defending and comforting victims being safer options, while tactical defending can be risky. Children’s empathy, peer status, and even the class climate can affect how they behave when helping victims. That is, a highly empathetic and socially influential teenager, if placed in a class that values anti-bullying ideas, is more likely to engage in defending behaviors when witnessing bullying incidents. The research can help create more effective anti-bullying interventions that take into account individual differences in defending behavior.
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