Beyond Bullying

Are you dreading the holidays because it means getting together with the siblings or in-laws who voted for the other guy?

With news of the Pfizer COVID vaccine being approved by the FDA, many have continued to resist getting it. Why are they so afraid, and can their fears be calmed?

Forgiveness

Refusing to Forgive Social Offenses Brings Out the Worst in Us

Janice Harper Ph.D. on June 15, 2021

We can learn a lot from the media frenzy that attacked model Chrissy Teigen for her past abhorrent behavior. By refusing to forgive, however, we become her.

We can learn a lot from the media frenzy that attacked model Chrissy Teigen for her past abhorrent behavior. By refusing to forgive, however, we become her.

The world is not comprised of good people verses bad. And most of us are not nearly as good—or as bad—as we think we are, or as we think other people are.

Embarrassment

Self-Reflection Without Shame

Janice Harper Ph.D. on May 4, 2021

It’s hard to look at ourselves objectively without caving into self-loathing.

It’s hard to look at ourselves objectively without caving into self-loathing.

Anger

Living With Difference in Troubling Times

Janice Harper Ph.D. on April 21, 2021

America hasn’t been this socially divided in decades, as the left and right sequester themselves in their virtue.

America hasn’t been this socially divided in decades, as the left and right sequester themselves in their virtue.

It's true that false accusations can multiply, but in the case of Bill Cosby, the pattern of accusation suggests they are more credible than suspect. When mob mentality or opportunism lead to false accusations, they share specific features that are missing in the litany of accusations against the famed comedian.

Forgiveness

Why the Ferguson Apology Matters

Janice Harper Ph.D. on September 26, 2014

When Ferguson Chief of Police Thomas Jackson apologized for the response of his team in the aftermath of Michael Brown's killing, many dismissed the apology as too little, too late. Yet the apology was not only rare, it was profound and rejecting it will do more to stifle healing than to promote it.

When Ferguson Chief of Police Thomas Jackson apologized for the response of his team in the aftermath of Michael Brown's killing, many dismissed the apology as too little, too late. Yet the apology was not only rare, it was profound and rejecting it will do more to stifle healing than to promote it.

Leadership

When Co-Workers Attack: Lessons from Ferguson

Janice Harper Ph.D. on August 15, 2014

The armed military confrontation between police and protestors in Ferguson, Missouri was only made possible by police leadership--and only ended when saner leadership stepped in. The same psychological processes that led the police to exceed necessary force and escalate the conflict are the same psychological processes that unfold in a workplace mobbing.

The armed military confrontation between police and protestors in Ferguson, Missouri was only made possible by police leadership--and only ended when saner leadership stepped in. The same psychological processes that led the police to exceed necessary force and escalate the conflict are the same psychological processes that unfold in a workplace mobbing.

Leadership

The Mobbing Against Jill Abramson Begins

Janice Harper Ph.D. on May 17, 2014

The statement by Arthur Sulzberger justifying his termination of New York Times Editor-in-Chief, Jill Abramson contains all the elements of an untruthful attempt to discredit her and turn public tide against her. What we can expect to happen now is that her former staff and the public will increasingly revise their perceptions of her to accord with Sulzberger's.

The statement by Arthur Sulzberger justifying his termination of New York Times Editor-in-Chief, Jill Abramson contains all the elements of an untruthful attempt to discredit her and turn public tide against her. What we can expect to happen now is that her former staff and the public will increasingly revise their perceptions of her to accord with Sulzberger's.

Forgiveness

Recovering from Roman: Sam Geimer on Moving On

Janice Harper Ph.D. on April 6, 2014

When Sam Geimer was raped by director Roman Polanski at the age of 13, she had no idea that the real damage was about to begin. But it wasn't the rape that damaged her. It was the media, the courts, and those who insist she remain damaged for the rest of her life. Refusing to be a victim, she has chosen the path of compassion. What might we learn from her recovery?

When Sam Geimer was raped by director Roman Polanski at the age of 13, she had no idea that the real damage was about to begin. But it wasn't the rape that damaged her. It was the media, the courts, and those who insist she remain damaged for the rest of her life. Refusing to be a victim, she has chosen the path of compassion. What might we learn from her recovery?

At the turn of the 20th century, the media encouraged lynching by presenting the violence as moral and necessary to protect women from rape. Now, with accusations levied against Woody Allen of the rape of a child, the media are at it again, fueling a bloodlust that parallels lynching—and workplace mobbing—in its group psychology and trajectory.

Memory

What to Make of Woody: When Accusations Make Us Squirm

Janice Harper Ph.D. on February 3, 2014

With the resurfacing of accusations that Woody Allen molested his young daughter, the public has been drawing hasty conclusions regarding the guilt or innocence of both parties. But in this case, as in any case when someone is accused of serious wrongdoing, the ease with which we judge has less to do with the facts, than it does with our discomfort about the claims.

With the resurfacing of accusations that Woody Allen molested his young daughter, the public has been drawing hasty conclusions regarding the guilt or innocence of both parties. But in this case, as in any case when someone is accused of serious wrongdoing, the ease with which we judge has less to do with the facts, than it does with our discomfort about the claims.

Governor Chris Christie is not the only one who presides over a workplace that engages in retaliation and awards abuse. Retaliation has become a common practice at work and in our daily lives, viewed as deserved punishment for what are often petty offenses. It's time we look to our own lives to recognize the many ways we engage in it ourselves, and excuse it in others.

When Bijan Ebrahimi was falsely accused of pedophilia, he was burned alive by an angry mob in the UK. This same mob mentality follows accusations routinely made in the press, in the workplace, or in our daily lives, as the recent accusations of pedophilia against a school principal, and my own experience of being accused of terrorism, demonstrate.

In the interactive documentary "What Killed Kevin?" filmmaker Beverly Peterson set out to explore how a man was driven to suicide by a bully boss. But what she discovered was far more complex and troubling, raising questions of what it means to point the finger at someone as a bully--and how that label comes to be created.

Shame is a damaging emotion that is linked to increased anger and cognitive dissonance. Shaming people to injure them is not only damaging and devastating; it can increase aggression as the target attempts to shake off the painful feelings of shame by justifying their actions and by fighting back.

What can animals teach us about human aggression? When humans act in groups under times of conflict or severe stress, our animal nature takes the lead. By understanding how animals become aggressive toward each other, and how they escape the aggression of their own species, we can better learn how humans act and react when bullying each other.

In most cases, shunning or ostracizing a person is neither necessary nor deserved. In fact, it's so damaging that it can lead the person who suffers it to violence.

While conducting fieldwork in Madagascar, I got a taste of what it felt like to be dehumanized with a name. But in watching the public vilification of Paula Deen, I cringe not so much at her insensitivity, as at the gleeful opportunity the public has been given to attack her. In so doing, we miss a far more valuable opportunity to discuss racial divides in our nation.