Project description
Seeing bullying: Why some step in and others do not
How do young people react when they witness bullying? Despite knowing it is wrong, only a small fraction of bystanders intervene, leaving many victims isolated. What shapes these split-second decisions? Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the BIAST project explores what people actually see during bullying moments. Using cutting-edge virtual reality and eye-tracking technology, researchers create lifelike bullying scenarios to track how visual attention links to choices to help or stay silent. Specifically, it will uncover hidden patterns behind bystander behaviour, shedding light on the unconscious processes that influence intervention. Its findings could revolutionise anti-bullying programmes, making schools safer through a deeper understanding of social dynamics and empathy in action.
Objective
Bullying is a pervasive social issue that severely impacts mental health, as underscored by the European Commission's comprehensive approach to mental health in 2023. Despite ongoing prevention efforts, bullying remains widespread in Europe and globally. As bullying is a social phenomenon, the role of bystanders is crucial for intervention and prevention. However, only about 17-19% of bystanders choose to intervene, and understanding the reasons behind this remains a key challenge. One significant research gap is the reliance on self-report measures, which capture conscious thoughts and reasoning but miss unconscious processes shaping bystander behavior. In this context, studying visual attention offers critical insights into how individuals understand social dynamics and react during bullying incidents. However, few studies in the bullying field have analyzed visual attention, relying on simplified stimuli such as vignettes or 2D videos and none have deeply examined bystanders' behavior. Therefore, the overarching aim is to identify recurring attention patterns associated with different intervention behaviors. The project has two key objectives: 1) to develop and validate VR scenarios that simulate realistic bullying environments, integrated with eye-tracking to study attentional patterns; 2) to investigate how bystanders’ visual attention correlates with their intervention choices while considering the moderating effects of personal variables such as empathy and moral disengagement. BIAST will be supported through a secondment at the University of Bologna. This interdisciplinary project will contribute new theoretical insights into bystanders’ bullying intervention, advance research in visual attention, and inform future anti-bullying programs. Additionally, the Marie Curie fellowship will allow me to gain interdisciplinary expertise, build international collaborations, and strengthen my leadership skills in bullying research.
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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4021 Stavanger
Norway
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