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BULLYING: Personality type with a tendency to bully others? Type of the victims?

Galena

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I know now how to be assertive, but I had to consciously grow my own fight instinct over a long and difficult time because I sure as hell wasn't born with one. Comparatively, still greatly lacking in aggression compared to many people. This grosses me out about myself, so I never give up testing, pushing and trying to expand my capacity for survival in a world that has teeth. In a way, I guess, I'm my own aggressor, and that's about it.

My inner critic/driver is a badly drawn Se caricature that growls down the back of my neck, but in the end, it just stands for the affirmation of life and skin.
 

magpie

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I bullied this girl in fourth grade and she was nice to me in return. I still feel incredibly guilty but guilt is a useless feeling because it doesn't make you a better person. I'm glad that I feel guilty though because at least I can sort of make up for it by feeling bad in return. But then I feel guilty that my guilt is being alleviated by feeling guilty because I probably don't deserve that. It's very complicated.
 

Romello

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All I know is most bullies are F not T. The sheer act of it is almost always an unhealthy expression of strong feelings within the bullies themselves. "Bullying" based on logic and reason would evolve into something else entirely, like tormenting people who owe you money into paying up, doing violence to someone as payback for something they did of equal maliciousness, etc. That's called business savvy or just plain justice.
 

magpie

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I can only speak for myself but I suppose I do agree with you, Romello. What I was doing as a kid was more because I was desperately uncomfortable socially but I know I have inappropriate bursts of emotion (including happiness, although I guess that's not relevant for this conversation) that are undoubtedly harmful for other people when I'm around them. So yeah.
 

Romello

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I can only speak for myself but I suppose I do agree with you, Romello. What I was doing as a kid was more because I was desperately uncomfortable socially but I know I have inappropriate bursts of emotion (including happiness, although I guess that's not relevant for this conversation) that are undoubtedly harmful for other people when I'm around them. So yeah.

Yeah man true that. Although ironically the only two people who ever bullied me were ESTP and INTP. Although the ESTP has since chilled out a lot so I can blame his bullying on pre teen hormones and the INTP aggressor was a weak little nerd anyway so it was kind of a fun mutual bullying dynamic between us.
 

Seymour

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So, there's not much, study-wise, on the MBTI and bullying. There are some studies on the Big Five and bullying, though:

One study covered the various roles:
Teacher reports indicated Friendliness and Emotional Instability as the strongest distinguishing personality factors among the participant roles, followed by Conscientiousness and Energy. Higher levels of Emotional Instability and lower levels of Friendliness typified both Pro-bullies and Victims, relative to their peers. Victims were also low in Conscientiousness. Defenders exhibited high levels of Friendliness, whereas Introversion and Independence characterized Outsiders. These results suggest that personality traits might contribute to children's typical behaviour in bullying situations.

Another study on the Big Five and workplace bullying victims
One cluster, which comprised 64% of the victim sample, do not differ from non-victims as far as personality is concerned. Hence, the results indicate that there is no such thing as a general victim personality profile. However, a small cluster of victims tended to be less extrovert, less agreeable, less conscientious, and less open to experience but more emotional unstable than victims in the major cluster and the control group. Further, both clusters of victims scored higher than non-victims on emotional instability, indicating that personality should not be neglected as being a factor in understanding the bullying phenomenon.

Yet another study:
Mediational analyses indicated that children who score low on Conscientiousness and high on Neuroticism are more likely to experience negative affect during peer conflict, such as feeling angrier, blaming the bully more, and forgiving less, and that these reactions are related to higher levels of victimization. For bullies, relations among Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and bullying appear to be mediated by lesser feelings of guilt and gains in physiological arousal while telling a bullying narrative. Advantages of a mediational model of peer victimization processes and implications for interventions are discussed.

So, in Big Five terms, looks like both victims and bullies tend to be low openness/independence, low conscientiousness, low agreeableness/friendliness, and high neuroticism. In MBTI terms (as a correlation of a correlation, take with a many grains of salt) being a bully or a victim would tend to correlate S, T & P plus emotional volatility.

(By the way, I think there is a tendency on the forums to conflate Feeling with emotional reactivity... those are two separate qualities. Emotional turbulence/reactivity is represented in the Big Five as neuroticism, but the MBTI doesn't have any representation of the same concept.)
 

Romello

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So, there's not much, study-wise, on the MBTI and bullying. There are some studies on the Big Five and bullying, though:

One study covered the various roles:


Another study on the Big Five and workplace bullying victims


Yet another study:


So, in Big Five terms, looks like both victims and bullies tend to be low openness/independence, low conscientiousness, low agreeableness/friendliness, and high neuroticism. In MBTI terms (as a correlation of a correlation, take with a many grains of salt) being a bully or a victim would tend to correlate S, T & P plus emotional volatility.

(By the way, I think there is a tendency on the forums to conflate Feeling with emotional reactivity... those are two separate qualities. Emotional turbulence/reactivity is represented in the Big Five as neuroticism, but the MBTI doesn't have any representation of the same concept.)

That's all probably true. The thing is is that I get so fed up with how much subtle hate sensing, especially EST types get on typology central due to the majority of misinformed so called introverted intuitives who assume they're loud and simple minded and what not for god knows why. They are weirdly demonized and dismissed. I jump at every opportunity I can to defend them because of this.
 

Kullervo

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I stand by what I said on ET types being the most likely to be bullies.

The reason for this is that they are simply the most imposing, dominant types, and usually a lot more physically strong as kids devalop at different rates. It seemed to vary by race more than anything but there is also quite a bit of intra-racial variation in T levels. This matters a lot at school as it is a strongly social environment.

Being part of a group - any group - is highly protective.
 

Galena

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If one's personality type (which we overwhelmingly assume is fixed) says anything about how socially aggressive or vulnerable they'll be, what does that say about any given individual's capacity to change their position? Are some people actually less or more vulnerable to force than others in a way that is as fixed as our types? Is that unsettling and taking this thread too literally, or just life?
 

Kullervo

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If one's personality type (which we overwhelmingly assume is fixed) says anything about how socially aggressive or vulnerable they'll be, what does that say about any given individual's capacity to change their position? Are some people actually less or more vulnerable to force than others in a way that is as fixed as our types? Is that unsettling and taking this thread too literally, or just life?

Yes, yes and no, though none of these questions have absolute answers.

Your personality will affect how motivated you are to change your position, because everybody is not equally ambitious. Depending on how likely you are to take insults to heart, you will be more or less vulnerable.

This is not unsettling. It is just the way we are. But it does not mean that you can do nothing to improve your position; only that there is a limit to what can be achieved.
 

magpie

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If one's personality type (which we overwhelmingly assume is fixed) says anything about how socially aggressive or vulnerable they'll be, what does that say about any given individual's capacity to change their position? Are some people actually less or more vulnerable to force than others in a way that is as fixed as our types? Is that unsettling and taking this thread too literally, or just life?

I don't think a person's personality is fixed, although I suppose I'm in the wrong place to be arguing that. It certainly is enticing though, isn't it, having a 'type' or a system to describe yourself. To simplify things. So no, I don't find it unsettling.

But I do think that we are all products of our experiences and that being a victim once gives someone a higher chance of being a victim again or of being an aggressor, or both. (Both, probably.) Because once it's happened it's happened and life has a way of being cyclical, I think. Although maybe I'm conflating bullying with experiences that are traumatic in nature. I don't know. Is bullying traumatic? I'd say it is.
 

Bknight

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ENTP's aren't bullies, if they're seen 'bullying', it's more likely the bullee actually deserved it. And it wasn't really bullying but in the mind of the ENTP, deserved.

I'd have to disagree on that. I have an ENTP as a close friend- and don't get me wrong, he's a good guy- but he can be a jerk sometimes. Not intentionally- he's just kinda impulsive. But then again, the bully doesn't have to realize what he/she is doing in order for it to be bullying.
 

GarrotTheThief

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My experience is that ENTP's don't usually bully people. They may seem like it at first or say something to that affect which is intended to be amusing more than anything or an exploration of possibility but they don't persistently try to demean and harass.
 

Doctor Cringelord

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I've been on both ends of this, although in many of the cases where I could be considered the bully, I was simply dealing with kids who were themselves bullies or assholes.

My response to being bullied was usually to either ignore or fight back if I felt cornered.
 

PocketFullOf

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Making fun of someone once in a while for the sake of humor may not be nice but it's not really bullying either.
 

GarrotTheThief

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As an ENTJ I am hyper-aware of how other ENTJ's bully people. They tend to be the most Machiavellian bullies. My friend is also an ENTJ and we would bully each other and have cold wars via spy vs. spy.


ENTJ will bully because they might/may go against their personal values of peace and respect to satisfy their objective goals. Hence Caesar's fate.
 

robowolf

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Types with weak Si sometimes fail to recognize the personal boundaries of others, so they might unintentionally not respect them. An ENTP with underdeveloped Si could look like a bully, but most likely they don't mean to hurt anyone unless they have a reason to.
I've never seen a bully irl, but in Hollywood movies they're usually male ExTJs/ESTPs or female ESFJs.
 

INFPtheQuietOne

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Bully: ESxJ-Te breaks social rules and ESFJs tend to spread rumors. S is more superficial which is a bully's trait.
Anyone can be the victim, but F is more likely since T cares less of what others think. ExFx would likely be bullied by many, with bad rumors damaging their reputation. IxFx are more quiet so they're less noticeable, but INFP is the stereotypical victim because they're quirky and timid.
 

fetus

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ESFJs tend to spread rumors.

Bullying is a topic close to my heart because I endured a lot of it for years. I've been bullied by types all across the board, including INFPs. If anything, ESFJs were the ones who reached out to me as the weird kid and chose to accept me. I think you'll find that the majority of ESFJs are good people who spread kindness rather than rumors. (But again, they can also be bullies--bullying has no type.)

S is more superficial which is a bully's trait.

Stop with the "Sensors are superficial" nonsense. I, an ESFJ, have had the deepest and most meaningful conversations with ISFPs. I frequently blog about existential issues and the "meat" of life. Sensing/iNtuition is not superficial vs. deep. It is about how one processes and receives information, just how Feeling/Thinking is about making decisions and conclusions based on that information.

Anyone can be the victim, but F is more likely since T cares less of what others think.

The independent clause in your sentence is correct. After the comma is where you're wrong. Here you're equating Feeling and Thinking with emotionality. As I stated before, it is more about decision-making. And, for your information, Fi is not dependent upon external validation.

ExFx would likely be bullied by many, with bad rumors damaging their reputation.

ExFx types are not all necessarily concerned with their reputation. If anything, that would be an Enneagram 3 issue.

IxFx are more quiet so they're less noticeable, but INFP is the stereotypical victim because they're quirky and timid.

Ah yes, I remember this same attitude from your earlier posts. Quit the self-defeatism. Quit thinking you're disadvantaged because of your type. What happens to you is not your fault, but it's on you if you choose to wallow in it and sabotage yourself. You can cry over being a victim or decide to call yourself a survivor. The choice is yours.
 
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