Research Reflection Journal

1. Who wrote this article? Is there any information available about the author? What do you know or guess
about his or her perspective?
While searching information about the author Richard M. Billow, I found out that he is a Clinical Professor, who has a doctorate and
postdoctorate in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy programs at New Yorks Adelphi University. Also, he is the Director of the Institute's
Postdoctoral Program in Group Psychotherapy and has a private practice in Great Neck, New York. Considering all his experience and
labor, the author has enough material to work with. His article is seen from a psychological point of view and linked with experiences
within a group on the same field. In this manner, I believe his perspective in the The Bully Inside Us: The Gang in the Mind article is
that there is a bully inside all of us that is incited by a set of bad thoughts which control our minds, also, being a bully is a response of
lacking maturity, as an animal instinct,in oneself and ones surrounding.
2. Where was this source published? As far as you can tell, did the source go through a process of being peerreviewed?
This electronical article belongs to a peer reviewed academic journal called; Psychoanalytic Inquiry, which is published by Routledge; a
global publisher of academic books and journals. Also, it can be found in the Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, database.
The reasons why I think this article has been through a process of being peer-reviewed are:

3.

It has around 45 sources as references for his article

It is the journals 33th volume
The author of the article bases his hypothesis on examples that occurred within his psychoanalyst's group and his life
It belongs to a global publisher of academic books and journals

When was this source published?

This academic journal was published on March 1, 2013.

4.

What is this article about? Summarize what the text says.

The author analyzed how the bullys mind works based upon experiences of his psychoanalyst's group and himself. He discuss how does
the bullys concept originates, how does that concept is developed into a kind of gang in the mind, how does the bully interact as an
individual and in a group, how does bad thoughts in the bullies mind work as a bully as well, why does bullies fear the psychoanalytic
process and what they do to avoid it, how does the unequal power balance works as a mind-bending to trigger bullying, and how does
the need of power and recognition incite the bully. In other words, the author describes bullying as a phenomenon that occurs in our
surrounding and mentality. Bullying begins when there is an interchange of bipolar thoughts, which turn into the kind of gang in our
minds. The bully struggles into a desire of power and recognition which respond against others when he feels anxious, stress, vulnerable
or threatened. The bully prefers to be surrounded by people with the same mindset, in order to avoid being bullied from others and
himself.
5.

Why did you decide to use this article? What, specifically, do you want to find out? How does this source help you?

When I started with my searching process, I decided to use the EBSCOhost database, which we learn to use in our library session. At the
beginning, I thought about my groups topic, Bullying, also, since we had to link it with the Spare Parts book, I tried searching the terms
Bullying - Hispanic - High school, Bullying - Immigration - School, Bullying - Race - School, Bullying - Consequences - Adulthood and
many others. However, after I tried with Bullying - Bullies - Mind I saw a perfect article with which we can work. Considering that we
were not sure what our posters question would be, I thought that How is the bullies mindset? Or How do bullies think? , could be a
good question to develop in our project. For this reason, I thought the article The Bully inside US: The Gang in the Mind had enough
information to answer our question. It talks about the thinking process of bullies and what make them become bullies. I thought that it
was interesting to think about bullies not only as offensive people, but also as a victim of the bullying he receive in his mind.
6. Golden Lines:
The bully wants something that can be withheld: recognition, submission, completion. The roles threaten to
reverse, tempering triumph and mollifying defeat Clinical Example: A Gang in ones mind (page 131)
Each of us lives with gangs in the mind and we feel protected and persecuted, and use them to persecute others
because it conveys the idea that a bullying group exists in the mind The Gang in the Mind, the Individual and The group
(page 131)
As a group animal (Bion, 1961, p. 91) with an archaic heritage (Freud, 1921, p. 127), we gravitate toward
the bully, in ourselves and in others, particularly when stressed, anxious or frustrated. Conclusion: The Insuperable Leader
of the Gang: Self, Superego, analysand, analyst (page 141-142)

Billow, Richard M. "The Bully Inside Us: The Gang In The Mind." Psychoanalytic Inquiry 33.2 (2013): 130-143. Psychology and
Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 21 Mar. 2016. (Billow, Richard M.)
Research Reflection Journal
(Article)
1. Find any information about the source(author) of who developed the article,video,etc.
Swearer, Susan M., has a PH.D. in psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, is a professor in the Department of Educational
Psychology at the University of NebraskaLincoln, and has been working with bullying, peer victimization, and psychological
disorder.
Hymel, Shelley, has a PH.D in educational psychology at the University of Illinois, is a professor in the Department of Educational
and Counselling Psychology and Special Education at the University of British Columbia, is a editorship of American Psychologist
and Merrill Palmer Quarterly, and has many international collaborations in Bullying.
2. Where was the source found,published,located? Was it peer reviewed?
It is an electronic article which belongs to a peer reviewed journal, called American Psychologist, published by the American
Psychological Association in the database of PsycARTICLES. It can be found on the EBSCOhost under the title; Understanding the
psychology of bullying: Moving toward a social-ecological diathesisstress model.
3. When was the source published? If it is not particularly new why do you think you can use it? Why is it relevant?
It was published in May - June, 2015
4. What is it about? Summarize what the text says in your own words. One paragraph or two at the most.
The authors approach to the psychological analysis of bullying, noticing that there is not only an individual motivation, but also there
are external factors that incite bullying among people. First they talk about the individual influences; such as anxiety, depression,
psychopathic tendencies, and others. Then, they talk about the influences within an aggressive peers relationship, as a result of the
tendency to get along with peers who have similar characteristics and behaviors. Then they talk about the family influences, how a
violent or negative environment at home incite bullying. Also, they talk about school and community/cultural influences. Furthermore,
they mention the consequences the bully and the victim suffer because of bullying. They use a social-ecological diathesis-stress model
to comprehend the relationship between psychopathology and bullying/victimization, which makes a connection between the
individuals characteristics and the stressful life experiences. This model helped them to observe how a negative and stressful life or
environment help the bully or victim develop their insecurities to allow victimization/bullying within their lives, and see the
interconnections within the child's mind. Though they have studied cases where bullying has brought mental health difficulties with
this model, they consider there should be future researches to test the applicability of this within cases where bullying is linked with
the desire of social status and power.
5. Why did you decide to use this article? Describe how this article is connected to your research question. In what ways
did you find the work to be useful, interesting, or provocative to your research? If you found that the article is not
connected to your research question, explain why it is not connected and what you will need to do next in your research
with your group.
I consider that this article is accurate for our research question because it englobes all the internal and external factors that incite the
bullying. Not only they approach on how the external factors make an impact on the bully/victim behavior and thinking process, but
also they develop a model with which we can observe how the bully/victims mind work, why they create/accept bullying and how it
affects them.
6. Include 1 golden line from the article and explain why this golden line was important for your research or important
for deciding that the article isnt helpful for your research?
If negative events are attributed to global, stable, and internal cognitive schemas, and negative beliefs about self, world, and future,
individuals are at increased risk for internalizing and externalizing problems.

Swearer, Susan M., and Shelley Hymel. "Understanding The Psychology Of Bullying: Moving Toward A Social-Ecological Diathesis
Stress Model." American Psychologist 70.4 (2015): 344-353. PsycARTICLES. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
Research Reflection Journal
(YouTube Video)
1. Find any information about the source(author) of who developed the article,video,etc.
Keegan-Michael Key, who is a writer; and Jordan Haworth Peele, who is a film director and screenwriter, are American actors and
comedians working for Comedy Central. They both are the creators and actors from the American sketch comedy television series,
Key & Peele, distributed by Comedy Central. This series is directed by Peter Atencio, produced by Keith Raskin and edited by Justin
Donaldson and Richard LaBrie.
2. Where was the source found,published,located? Was it peer reviewed?
The video was published on YouTube, as a comedy video from Comedy Central, which is an American television channel. The video
is not peer reviewed.
3. When was the source published? If it is not particularly new why do you think you can use it? Why is it relevant?
The video was published on November 12, 2012
4. What is it about? Summarize what the text says in your own words. One paragraph or two at the most.
The video is a satire that englobes the psychology of a bully and the elements that contribute with his behavior. In the video there is a
transition from a low self-esteem and a sense of egocentricity, to the fear of having sexual problems. All these elements are
transformed into a self hatred, which is pointed towards the victim. Additionally, it portrayed how the violence he receives at home
became another reason to punish and mistreat others.
5. Why did you decide to use this article? Describe how this article is connected to your research question. In what ways
did you find the work to be useful, interesting, or provocative to your research? If you found that the article is not
connected to your research question, explain why it is not connected and what you will need to do next in your research
with your group.
I think this video is an interesting and short way to express some of the thoughts and elements that influence the bullys behavior.
Furthermore, I consider we can use this video to captivate the viewers attention, it is a funny but true representation of bullying,
represented in a short length of time. Moreover, since it portrays how the bully thinks and what makes him use violence toward others,
it is a source with which we can easily comprehend our topic.
6. Include 1 golden line from the article and explain why this golden line was important for your research or important
for deciding that the article isnt helpful for your research?
But its the only defense mechanism I have against deeper, more terrifying problems buried inside of me. Jordan Peele (Key &
Peele - School Bully). This golden line represents the reason why people bully others. Here, the actor Jordan Peele demonstrates how
his fragile mind encourage him to use violence as a defense. Also, it gives a perspective of our projects question, How do bullies
think?
Comedycentral. "Key & Peele - School Bully." YouTube. YouTube, 12 Nov. 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUvFeyGxaaU>.