The Influence of Perception of Group Attitudes and the Relationship with Victims on Bystander’s Behaviors: the Moderating Effect of Relationships with the Victims

Research Questions: Is there a difference of attitude toward the acceptability of bullying in demographic variables? Do bystanders have a different perception of varied peer groups' attitudes toward bullying? Do the discrepancies in the second question contribute to bystanders' protective behaviors? Is that relation regulated by demographic variables such as ethnic and the relationship between the victims and bystanders? Methods: A survey of 410 elementary, middle and high school students' attitude toward bullying was conducted through the use of questionnaires. The participants reported their attitudes and perceptions of three different peer groups' attitudes about bullying, as well as their behavior responses when they witness a bullying pluralistic ignorance. Results: (1) The participates' attitudes toward the acceptability of bullying are different in demographic variables, such as age, sex, boarders or day students, boarding schools or day schools, but ethnic does not have any clear influence on their attitudes. (2) When asked about their attitudes toward bullying, children perceived their personal attitudes as more pro-social than any peer groups like friends, popular students, common students, which is consistent with pluralistic ignorance theory. (3)Further, misperception of group norms was associated with the students' reports of behavioral responses to bullying: children were more likely to protect the victims with similar perceived attitudes and the same race as themselves. Conclusion: There is difference between different groups on children's Pluralistic Ignorance. Children thought themselves more pro-social than any other groups. Meanwhile, the more intimate the participants and the group were, the more pro-social they perceived the group was (the discrepancy between self and the intimate group was small). Furthermore, there was an association between bystanders' Pluralistic Ignorance and protective behaviors, and it was regulated by some factors of victims.