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[–] tonberry2 ago 

Of course; the whole reason why bullies beat up on people weaker than them is to boost their self esteem.

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[–] ciano 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

I believe that is the myth that this study purports to have busted.

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[–] tonberry2 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago  (edited ago)

They are trying to argue against the belief that bullies are sick people with genetic illnesses and broken pasts. Their argument is that bullies are acting the way they do to improve their rank (or at least their belief that they are already in a higher rank). Anybody who has been bullied in high school usually figures this out about the people that pick on them; bullies are trying to achieve grandeur by demonstrating to themselves that they aren't as lowly as the people they pick on. This idea is what this study concludes as well:

The average bully isn’t particularly sadistic or even deeply argumentative,” he says. “What they really are is people driven for status.”

It's actually a great conclusion because it removes the nonsense conclusion that bullies aren't reponsible for their behavior because of poor genetics or what have you. They are choosing to be a-holes for personal gain.