Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

“FearNot!”: a computer-based anti-bullying-programme designed to foster peer intervention

  • Published:
European Journal of Psychology of Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 12 February 2013

Abstract

Bullying is widespread in European schools, despite multiple intervention strategies having been proposed over the years. The present study investigates the effects of a novel virtual learning strategy (“FearNot!”) to tackle bullying in both UK and German samples. The approach is intended primarily for victims to increase their coping skills and further to heighten empathy and defence of victims by non-involved bystanders. This paper focuses on the defender role. Applying quantitative as well as qualitative methodology, the present study found that “FearNot!” helped non-involved children to become defenders in the German sub-sample while it had no such effect in the UK sub-sample. German “New Defenders” (children who are initially uninvolved but are nominated as defenders by their peers after the intervention period) were found to be significantly more popular at baseline, and to show more cognitive empathy (Theory of Mind) for the virtual victims as compared to permanently non-involved pupils. Moreover, gender interacts with becoming a defender in its effects on affective empathy, with emotional contagion being particularly associated with New Defender status among girls. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research on anti-bullying intervention strategies and cultural differences in bullying prevalence rates and intervention outcomes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arseneault, L., Walsh, E., Trzesniewski, K., Newcombe, R., Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T. E. (2006). Bullying victimization uniquely contributes to adjustment problems in young children: a nationally representative cohort study. Pediatrics, 118(1), 130–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aylett, R. S., Louchart, S., Dias, J., Paiva, A., & Vala, M. (2005). FearNot! - an experiment in emergent narrative. In T. Panayiotopoulos, J. Gratch, R. Aylett, D. Ballin, P. Olivier, & T. Rist (Eds.), Intelligent virtual agents proceedings (pp. 305–316). Berlin: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Björkqvist, K., Österman, K., & Lagerspetz, K. M. J. (1994). Sex differences in covert aggression among adults. Aggressive Behavior, 20, 27–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bond, L., Carlin, J. B., Thomas, L., Rubin, K., & Patton, G. (2001). Does bullying cause emotional problems? A prospective study of young teenagers. British Medical Journal, 323(7311), 480–484.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryk, A. S., Raudenbush, S., & Congdon, R. (1996). HLM hierarchical linear and non-linear modeling with HLM/2 L and HLM/3 L programs. Chicago: Scientific Software International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charach, A., Pepler, D., & Ziegler, S. (1995). Bullying at school: a Canadian perspective. Education Canada, 35, 12–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cierpka, M. (Ed.). (2001). FAUSTLOS - Ein Curriculum zur Prävention von aggressivem und gewaltbereitem Verhalten bei Kindern der Klassen 1 bis 3 [FAUSTLOS – a curriculum to prevent aggressive and violent behaviour among school children of classes 1 to 3]. Göttingen: Hogrefe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coie, J. D., Dodge, K. A., & Coppotelli, H. (1982). Dimensions and types of social status: a cross-age perspective. Developmental Psychology, 18(4), 557–570.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coie, J. D., Dodge, K. A., & Kupersmidt, J. B. (1990). Peer group behaviours and social status. In S. R. Asher & J. C. Coie (Eds.), Peer rejection in childhood (pp. 17–59). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Craig, W. M., & Pepler, D. (1997). Observations of bullying and victimization in the schoolyard. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 13, 41–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craig, W. M., Pepler, D., & Atlas, R. (2000). Observations of bullying in the playground and in the classroom. School Psychology International, 21, 22–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crick, N. R., & Grotpeter, J. K. (1995). Relational aggression, gender, and social-psychological adjustment. Child Development, 66, 710–722.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. H. (1994). Empathy. A social psychological approach. Boulder CO: Westview.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dewey, J. (1993). How we think: a restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. Lexington: Heath.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dias, J., & Paiva, A. (2005). Feeling and reasoning: a computational model for emotional agents. Paper presented at 12th Portuguese conference on artificial intelligence (EPIA), December 5-8, in Covilhã, Portugal.

  • Espelage, D. L., Holt, M. K., & Henkel, R. R. (2003). Examination of peer-group contextual effects on aggression during early adolescence. Child Development, 74, 205–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fekkes, M., Pijpers, F. I. M., Fredriks, A. M., Vogels, T., & Verloove-Vanhorick, S. P. (2006). Do bullied children get ill, or do ill children get bullied? a prospective cohort study on the relationship between bullying and health-related symptoms. Pediatrics, 117(5), 1568–1574.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flavell, J. H. (2004). Theory-of-mind development: retrospect and prospect. Merrill-Palmer Quarterley Journal of Developmental Psychology, 50, 274–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frey, K. S., Hirschstein, M. K., Snell, J. L., Van Schoiack Edstrom, L., MacKenzie, E. P., & Broderick, C. J. (2005). Reducing playground bullying and supporting beliefs: an experimental trail of the steps to respect program. Developmental Psychology, 41(3), 479–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, L., Woods, S., Aylett, R., Newall, L., & Paiva, A. (2005). Achieving empathic engagement through affective interaction with synthetic characters. Paper presented at Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction (ACII), October 22–24, in Beijing, China.

  • Hatton, N., & Smith, D. (1995). Reflection in teacher education: towards definition and implementation. Teaching & Teacher Education, 11, 33–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins, D., Pepler, D. J., & Craig, W. M. (2001). Naturalistic observations of peer interventions in bullying. Social Development, 10, 512–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hazler, R. J. (1996). Bystanders: an overlooked factor in peer on peer abuse. The Journal for the Professional Counsellor, 11(2), 11–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, M. L. (1977). Empathy, its development and prosocial implications. In C. B. Kaesy (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Vol. 25, pp. 169–217). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hogan, R. (1969). Development of an empathy scale. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 35, 307–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hollin, C. R., & Tower, P. (Eds.). (1986). Handbook of social skill training (vols. 1 and 2). Oxford: Pergamon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinmetz, M., & Holz-Ebeling, F. (1995). Wie brauchbar sind die vorliegenden Fragebogen zur Messung von Empathie? Kritische Analyse unter Berücksichtigung der Iteminhalte. [How useful are current questionnaires of empathy measurement? a critical analysis considering the contents of items]. Zeitschrift für Differentielle und Diagnostische Psychologie, 16, 11–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hungerige, H., & Borg-Laufs, M. (2001). Rollenspiel. [Role-play]. In M. Borg-Laufs (Ed.), Lehrbuch der Verhaltenstherapie mit Kindern und Jugendlichen, Band II: Methoden (pp. 247–299). Tübingen: dgvt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeffrey, L. R., Miller, D., & Linn, M. (2001). Middle school bullying as a context for the development of passive observers to the victimization of others. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 2, 143–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jupp, J. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (1990). Self-concept changes in shy, socially isolated adolescents following social skills training emphasising role-plays. Australian Psychologist, 25, 165–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • L’Abate, L., & Milan, M. A. (Eds.). (1985). Handbook of social skill training and research. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Latané, B., & Darley, J. (1968). Group inhibition of bystander intervention in emergencies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 10, 215–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? In P. Salovey & D. Sluyter (Eds.), Emotional development and emotional intelligence: implications for educators (pp. 3–31). New York: Basic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nansel, T. R., Craig, W., Overpeck, M. D., Saluja, G., Ruan, W. J., & The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Bullying Analyses Working Group. (2004). Cross-national consistency in the relationship between bullying behaviors and psychosocial adjustment. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 158(8), 730–736.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connell, P., Pepler, D., & Craig, W. (1999). Peer involvement in bullying: insights and challenges for intervention. Journal of Adolescence, 22, 437–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olweus, D. (1996). Gewalt in der Schule [Bullying at Schools]. Bern: Huber.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olweus, D. (2001). Peer harassment: A critical analysis and some important issues. In J. Juvonen & S. Graham (Eds.), Peer harassment in school: The plight of the vulnerable and victimized (pp. 3–20). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olweus, D. (2004). The Olweus bullying prevention programme: design and implementation issues and a new national initiative in Norway. In P. K. Smith, D. Pepler, & K. Rigby (Eds.), Bullying in schools: how successful can interventions be? (pp. 13–36). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Peery, J. (1979). Popular, amiable, isolated, rejected: a reconceptualization of sociometric status in preschool children. Child Development, 50, 1231–1234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rigby, K., & Slee, P. T. (1992). Bullying among Australian school children: reported behaviour and attitudes towards victims. The Journal of Social Psychology, 131(5), 615–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodkin, P. C. (2004). Peer ecologies of aggression and bullying. In D. L. Espelage & S. M. Swearer (Eds.), Bullying in American schools (pp. 87–106). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salmivalli, C. (1999). Participant role approach to school bullying: implications for interventions. Journal of Adolescence, 22, 453–459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salmivalli, C. (2001). Group view on victimization: Empirical findings and their implications. In J. Juvonen & S. Graham (Eds.), Peer harassment in school: The plight of the vulnerable and victimized (pp. 398–419). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salmivalli, C., Lagerspetz, K., Björkqvist, K., Österman, K., & Kaukiainen, A. (1996). Bullying as a group process: participant roles and their relations to social status within the group. Aggressive Behavior, 22, 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salmivalli, C., Lappalainen, M., & Lagerspetz, K. M. J. (1998). Stability and change of behaviour in connection with bullying in schools: a two-year follow-up. Aggressive Behavior, 24, 205–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sapouna, M., Wolke, D., Vannini, N., Watson, S., Woods, S., Schneider, W., et al. (2009). Virtual learning intervention to reduce bullying victimization in primary school: a controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51(1), 104–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schäfer, M., & Korn, S. (2004). Bullying als Gruppenphänomen: Eine Adaption des „Participant Role“-Ansatzes. [Bullying as group phenomenon: an adaptation of the „participant-role“approach]. Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psychologie, 36(1), 19–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheithauer, H., Hayer, T., & Petermann, F. (2003). Bullying unter Schülern. Erscheinungsformen, Risikobedingungen und Interventionskonzepte. Göttingen: [Bullying among pupils: forms, risk factors and intervention approaches]. Hogrefe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheithauer, H., Hayer, T., Petermann, F., & Jugert, G. (2006). Physical, verbal, and relational forms of bullying among German students: age trends, gender differences, and correlates. Aggressive Behavior, 32, 261–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schreier, A., Wolke, D., Thomas, K., Horwood, J., Hollis, C., Gunnell, D., et al. (2009). Prospective study of peer victimization in childhood and psychotic symptoms in a nonclinical population at age 12 years. Archives of General Psychiatry, 66(5), 527–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schuster, B. (1997). Bullying in der Schule: Ein Überblick über die Forschung. und Anregungen aus verwandten Forschungstraditionen [Bullying at school: an overview of research results and suggestions of related research traditions]. Empirische Pädagogik, 11, 315–325.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, P. K., Sharp, S., Eslea, M., & Thompson, D. (2004). England: The Sheffield Project. In P. K. Smith, D. Pepler, & K. Rigby (Eds.), Bullying in schools: How successful can interventions be? (pp. 99–124). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Stassen Berger, K. (2007). Update on bullying at school: science forgotten? Developmental Review, 27(1), 90–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutton, J., & Smith, P. K. (1999). Bullying as a group process: an adaptation of the participant role approach. Aggressive Behavior, 25, 97–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tapper, K., & Boulton, M. J. (2005). Victim and peer group responses to different forms of aggression among primary school children. Aggressive Behavior, 31, 238–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van de Vijver, F. J. R., & Hambleton, R. K. (1996). Translating tests: some practical guidelines. European Psychologist, 1(2), 89–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Mets, M. (1991). Rollenspiel effektiv [Effective role play]. München: Ehrenwirth.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Marées, N., & Petermann, F. (2008). Erhebung von Bullying im Kindergarten- und Grundschulalter: Ein Review [assessment of bullying in kindergarten and primary school age: a review]. Psychologie in Erziehung und Unterricht, 55, 161–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, S., Vannini, N., Davis, M., Woods, S., Hall, M., Hall, L., & Dautenhahn, K. (2007). FearNot! an anti-bullying intervention: Evaluation of an interactive virtual learning environment. Paper presented at Artificial Intelligence and Simulation of Behaviour (AISB), April 2–4. Newcastle, UK.

  • Watson, S., Vannini, N., Woods, S., Dautenhahn, K., Sapouna, M., Enz, S., et al. (2010). Inter-cultural differences in response to a computer based anti-bullying intervention. Educational Research, 52(1), 61–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitney, I., & Smith, P. K. (1993). A survey of the nature and extent of bullying in junior/middle and secondary schools. Educational Research, 35, 3–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolke, D., Woods, S., Standford, K., & Schulz, H. (2001). Bullying and victimization of primary school children in England and Germany: prevalence and school factors. British Journal of Psychology, 92(4), 673–696.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woods, S., Hall, L., Sobral, D., Dautenhahn, K., & Wolke, D.(2003). Animated characters in bullying intervention. Paper presented at Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVA), September 15–17, in Irsee, Germany.

  • Wright, P. R. (2006). Drama education and development of self: myth or reality? Social Psychology of Education, 9, 43–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the schools, teachers, and children who have taken part in this study. In addition we would like to thank the following researchers, without whom this study would not have been possible: Stefanie Brosch, Rafal Dawidowicz, Megan Davis, Joao Dias, Rui Figueiredo, Adrian Gordon, Marc Hall, Wan Ching Ho, Michael Kriegel, Karin Leichtenstern, Mey Yii Lim, Sandy Louchart, Asad Nazir, Chystopher Nehaniv, Luis Oliveira, Malcolm Padmore, Matthias Rehm, Paola Rizzo, Harald Schaub, Tim Tisdale, Isabel Transoco, Marco Vala, Thurid Vogt, Marc Webster, and Carsten Zoll. Many thanks also to Katja Berberich, Anna-Verena Zeiser, Peter Kluge und Christian Welz for their assistance with data collection and entry.

Funding

This work was partially supported by the European Community (EC) and was funded by the eCIRCUS project IST-4-027656-STP with university partners Heriot-Watt, Hertfordshire, Sunderland, Warwick, Bamberg, Augsburg, Wuerzburg plus INESC-ID and Interagens. The authors are solely responsible for the content of this publication. It does not represent the opinion of the EC, and the EC is not responsible for any use that might be made of data appearing therein.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Psychology, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany

    Natalie Vannini & Wolfgang Schneider

  2. Gruppe fuer Interdisziplinaere Psychologie, Universitaet Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany

    Sibylle Enz

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

    Maria Sapouna & Dieter Wolke

  4. School of Psychology, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK

    Scott Watson & Sarah Woods

  5. School of Computer Science, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK

    Kerstin Dautenhahn

  6. Department of Computing, Engineering and Technology, University of Sunderland, Sunderland, UK

    Lynne Hall

  7. INESC-ID, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal

    Ana Paiva

  8. Institut fuer Informatik, Universitaet Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany

    Elizabeth André

  9. School of Maths and Computer Science, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK

    Ruth Aylett

Authors
  1. Natalie Vannini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sibylle Enz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Maria Sapouna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Dieter Wolke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Scott Watson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Sarah Woods
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Kerstin Dautenhahn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Lynne Hall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Ana Paiva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Elizabeth André
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Ruth Aylett
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Wolfgang Schneider
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Natalie Vannini.

Additional information

Natalie Vannini. Institute of Psychology, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wuerzburg, Roentgenring 10, D-97070 Wuerzburg. E-mail: natalie.vannini@psychologie.uni-wuerzburg.de; Web site: http://www.i4.psychologie.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/

Current themes of research:

Social and emotional learning (SEL). Bullying. Evaluation.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Watson, S., Vannini, N., Woods, S., Dautenhahn, K., Sapouna, M., Enz, S., Schneider, W., Wolke, D., Hall, L., Paiva, A., Andre, E., & Aylett, R. (2010). Inter-cultural differences in response to a computer-based anti-bullying intervention. Educational Research, 52(1), 61–80.

Sapouna, M., Wolke, D., Vannini, N., Watson, S., Woods, S., Schneider, W., Enz, S., Hall, L., Paiva, A., Andre, E., Dautenhahn, K., & Aylett, R. (2009). Virtual learning intervention to reduce bullying victimization in Primary School: a controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 51(1), 104–112.

Enz, S., Zoll, C., Vannini, N., Schneider, W., Hall, L., Paiva, A., & Aylett, R. (2008). e – Motional Learning in Primary Schools: FearNot! An Antibullying Intervention Based on Virtual Role-play with Intelligent Synthetic Characters. Electronic Journal e-Learning, 6(2), 111–118.

Dr. Sibylle Enz. Gruppe fuer Interdisziplinaere Psychologie, Universitaet Bamberg, Kapuzinerstrasse 16, D-96045 Bamberg. E-mail:sibylle.enz@uni-bamberg.de; Web: http://www.uni-bamberg.de/grip/

Current themes of research:

Empathy. Social relationships at the workplace. Social relationships with artificial companions. Evaluation.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Enz, S., Zoll, C., Vannini, N., Lim, M., Schneider, W., Hall, L., Paiva, A., Aylett, R. (2010). ORIENT: The Intercultural Empathy Through Virtual Role-Play. In S. Mukerji & P. Tripathi (Eds.), Cases on Transnational Learning and Technologically Enabled Environments (pp. 65–88). Hershey: IGI Global.

Sapouna, M., Wolke, D., Vannini, N., Watson, S., Woods, S., Schneider, W., Enz, S., Hall, L., Paiva, A., Andre, E., Dautenhahn, K., & Aylett, R. (2009). Virtual learning intervention to reduce bullying victimization in Primary School: a controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 51(1), 104–112.

Ho, W.C., Dautenhahn, K., Lim, M., Enz, S., Zoll, C., & Watson, S. (2009). Towards Learning ‘Self’ and Emotional Knowledge in Social and Cultural Human-Agent Interactions. International Journal of Agent Technologies and Systems 1(3), 51–78.

Enz, S., Zoll, C., Vannini, N., Schneider, W., Hall, L., Paiva, A., & Aylett, R. (2008). e-Motional Learning in Primary Schools: FearNot! An Antibullying Intervention Based on Virtual Role-play with Intelligent Synthetic Characters. Electronic Journal e-Learning, 6(2), 111–118.

Dr Maria Sapouna. Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL. E-mail: maria.sapouna@scotland.gsi.gov.uk; Web site: www.warwick.ac.uk

Current themes of research:

Bullying. Offender rehabilitation and resettlement.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Sapouna, M., Wolke, D., Vannini, N., Watson, S., Woods, S., Schneider, W., Enz, S., Hall, L., Paiva, A., Andre, E., Dautenhahn, K. & Aylett, R. (2009). Virtual learning intervention to reduce bullying victimization in primary school: A controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51(1), 104–112.

Sapouna, M. (in press). Collective efficacy in the school context: Does it help explain victimisation and bullying among Greek primary and secondary school students? Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

Sapouna, M. (2008). Bullying in Greek primary and secondary schools. School Psychology International, 29(2), 199–213.

Dieter Wolke. Professor of Developmental Psychology and Individual Differences, The University of Warwick, Department of Psychology and Health Sciences Research Institute, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK. E-mail: D.Wolke@warwick.ac.uk; Web site: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/psych/people/academic/dwolke/, http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/?external

Current themes of research:

Development and consequences of childhood bullying and social defeat. Precursors and consequences of early regulatory problems in infancy. Early brain development (natural experiment prematurity) and long-term consequences on cognitive development and psychopathology.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Schreier, A., Wolke, D., Thomas, K., Horwood, J., Hollis, C., Gunnell, D., et al. (2009). Prospective Study of Peer Victimization in Childhood and Psychotic Symptoms in a Nonclinical Population at Age 12 Years. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 66(5), 527–536.

Wolke, D., Woods, S., & Samara, M. (2009). Who escapes or remains a victim of bullying in primary school? British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 27, 835–851.

Johnson, S., Hollis, C., Kochhar, P., Hennessy, E., Wolke, D., & Marlow, N. (2010). Psychiatric Disorders in Extremely Preterm Children: Longitudinal Finding at Age 11 Years in the EPICure Study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(5), 453–463.e451.

Wolke, D., Samara, M., Bracewell, M., & Marlow, N. (2008). Specific Language Difficulties and School Achievement in Children Born at 25 Weeks of Gestation or Less. The Journal of Pediatrics, 152(2), 256–262.e251.

Wolke, D., Schmid, G., Schreier, A., & Meyer, R. (2009). Crying and Feeding Problems in Infancy and Cognitive Outcome in Preschool Children Born at Risk: A Prospective Population Study. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 30(3), 226–238.

Scott Watson. Adaptive Systems Research Group, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 9AB, UK. Web site: http://adapsys.feis.herts.ac.uk/

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Watson, S., Vannini, N., Woods, S., Dautenhahn, K., Sapouna, M., Enz, S., Schneider, W., Wolke, D., Hall, L., Paiva, A., Andre, E., & Aylett, R. (2010). Inter-cultural differences in response to a computer-based anti-bullying intervention. Educational Research, 52(1), 61–80.

Watson, S., Dautenhahn, K., Ho; W.C., & Dawidowicz, R. (2009). Developing relationships between autonomous agents: Promoting pro-social behaviour through virtual learning environments Part I. In G. Trajkovski, & S.G. Collins (Eds.). Handbook of Research on Agent Based Societies. Information Reference Science. pp 125–138.

Watson, S., Dautenhahn, K., Ho, W. C., & Dawidowicz, R. (2009). Developing relationships between autonomous agents: Promoting pro-social behaviour through virtual learning environments Part II In G. Trajkovski, & S.G. Collins (Eds.). Handbook of Research on Agent Based Societies. Information Reference Science. pp 229–242.

Dr Sarah Woods. School of Psychology, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9AB, UK. E-mail: s.n.woods@herts.ac.uk; Web site: www.go.herts.ac.uk/psychology

Current themes of research:

Bullying Behaviour. Friendship. Peer Relations. Cyberbullying. Online Relationships & Disclosure. Role-Play & Individual Differences.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Woods, S., & Wolke, D. (2004). Direct and relational bullying experiences among primary school children, and academic achievement. Journal of School Psychology, 42(2), 135–155.

Woods, S., & Wolke, D. (2003). Does the content of anti-bullying policies inform us about the prevalence of direct and relational bullying behaviour in primary schools? Educational Psychology, 23(4), 381–401.

Sapouna, M., Wolke, D., Vannini, N., Watson, S., Woods, S., Schneider, W., Enz, S. Hall, L., Paiva, A., Andre, E., Dautenhahn, K., Aylett., R. (2009) Virtual learning intervention to reduce bullying victimization in primary school: A controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 51(1), 104–112.

Wolke, D., Woods, S., Samara, M., (2009). Who escapes or remains a victim of bullying in primary school? British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 27, 835–851.

Prof. Dr. Kerstin Dautenhahn. Adaptive Systems Research Group, School of Computer Science, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield Herts AL10 9AB, United Kingdom. Web site: http://homepages.feis.herts.ac.uk/~comqkd/

Current themes of research:

Human–robot interaction. Social robotics. Assistive technology. Intelligent virtual environments.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Watson, S., Vannini, N., Woods, S., Dautenhahn, K., Sapouna, M., Enz, S., Schneider, W., Wolke, D., Hall, L., Paiva, A., Andre, E., & Aylett, R. (2010). Inter-cultural differences in response to a computer-based anti-bullying intervention. Educational Research, 52(1), 61–80.

Sapouna, M., Wolke, D., Vannini, N., Watson, S., Woods, S., Schneider, W., Enz, S., Hall, L., Paiva, A., Andre, E., Dautenhahn, K. & Aylett, R. (2009). Virtual learning intervention to reduce bullying victimization in primary school: A controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51(1), 104–112.

Woods, S., Hall, L., Dautenhahn, K., & Wolke, D. (2007). Implications of gender differences for the development of animated characters for the study of bullying behavior, Computers in Human Behavior 23(1), 770–786.

Robins, B., Dautenhahn, K., & Dubowski, J. (2006). Does appearance matter in the interaction of children with autism with a humanoid robot? Interaction Studies 7(3), 509–542.

Dr Lynne Hall. Department of Computing, Engineering and Technology, University of Sunderland, St. Peter's Campus, Sunderland, SR6 0DD, UK. E-mail: lynne.hall@sunderland.ac.uk; Web site: www.sunderland.ac.uk

Current themes of research:

In context evaluation for technology enhanced learning. User experience design and evaluation for low carbon vehicles.

Prof. Dr. Ana Paiva. Associate Professor at IST (Instituto Superior Técnico) and Group Coordinator at INESC-ID (Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Lisboa), IST Taguspark, Av. Prof. Dr. Cavaco Silva, 2744-016, Porto Salvo, Oeiras, Portugal. E-mail: ana.paiva@inesc-id.pt; Web site: http://www.inesc-id.pt/

Current themes of research:

Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Agents. Synthetic characters. Affective interactions. Emotion based architectures for intelligent agents.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Prada, R., & Paiva, A. (2009). Teaming up humans with autonomous synthetic characters. Artificial Intelligence,173, 80–103.

Sapouna, M., Wolke, D., Vannini, N., Watson, S., Woods, S., Schneider, W., Enz, S., Hall, L., Paiva, A., Andre, E., Dautenhahn, K. & Aylett, R. (2009). Virtual learning intervention to reduce bullying victimization in primary school: A controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51(1), 104–112.

Paiva, A., Dias, J., Sobral, D., Aylett, R., Woods, S., Hall, L., & Zoll, C. (2005). Learning By Feeling: Evoking Empathy With Synthetic Characters. Applied Artificial Intelligence, 19, 235–266.

Prof. Dr. Elisabeth André. Lehrstuhl für Multimedia-Konzepte und Anwendungen, Institut für Informatik, Universitaet Augsburg, Universitaetsstr. 6a, D-86159 Augsburg, Germany. E-mail: andre@informatik.uni-augsburg.de; Web site: http://mm-werkstatt.informatik.uni-augsburg.de

Current themes of research:

Experimental learning environments with animated characters. Computer-based role play. Serious games and edutainment. Intelligent tutoring systems. Affective computing. Interactive multimodal user interfaces. Human-centred multimedia.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

André, E. (2008). Design and Evaluation of Embodied Conversational Agents for Educational and Advisory Software. In R. Luppicini (ed). Handbook of Conversation Design for Instructional Applications. Information Science Reference.

Leichtenstern, K., & André, E. (2009). Studying multi-user settings for pervasive games. In: MobileHCI ’09 Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Human- Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services, New York, NY, USA, ACM (2009) 1–10.

Johnson, L., Mayer, R., André, E., & Rehm, M. (2005). Cross-cultural evaluation of politeness in tactics for pedagogical agents. In: Proc. of the 12th Int. Conf. on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED).

Sapouna, M., Wolke, D., Vannini, N., Watson, S., Woods, S., Schneider, W., Enz, S., Hall, L., Paiva, A., Andre, E., Dautenhahn, K. & Aylett, R. (2009). Virtual learning intervention to reduce bullying victimization in primary school: A controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51(1), 104–112.

Prof. Dr. Ruth Aylett. MACS, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK. E-mail: ruth@macs.hw.ac.uk; Web site: http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~ruth

Current themes of research:

Affective agent architectures. Interactive narrative. Human–robot interaction.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Aylett, R., Paiva, A., Vannini, N., Enz, S., & Andre, E. (2009). But that was in another country: agents and intercultural empathy. Proceedings, 8 th International conference, AAMAS 2009, vol 1, 329–336.

Lim, M. Y., & Aylett, R. (2009). An emergent emotion model for an affective mobile guide with attitude, Applied Artificial Intelligence Journal, 2, 835–854.

Sapouna, M., Wolke, D., Vannini, N., Watson, S., Woods, S., Schneider, W., Enz, S., Hall, L., Paiva, A., Andre, E., Dautenhahn, K. & Aylett, R. (2009). Virtual learning intervention to reduce bullying victimization in primary school: A controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51(1), 104–112.

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schneider. Institute of Psychology, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wuerzburg, Roentgenring 10, D-97070 Wuerzburg. E-mail: schneider@psychologie.uni-wuerzburg.de; Web site: http://www.i4.psychologie.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/

Current themes of research:

Memory Development, Metacognition. Reading Research. Prevention of Developmental Dyslexia. Developmental Dyslexia vs. “Garden Variety Poor Readers”. Media Psychology. The Influence of Televsision on the Development of Language and Reading Competence.

Most relevant publications in the field of Psychology of Education:

Schneider, W., Stefanek, J., & Niklas, F. (2009). Development of intelligence and thinking. In W. Schneider & M. Bullock (Eds.), Human development from early childhood to early adulthood: Evidence from the Munich Longitudinal Study on the Genesis of Individual Competencies (LOGIC) (pp. 7–34). New York, NY: Psychology.

Schneider, W. (2008). The development of metacognitive knowledge in children and adolescents: Major trends and implications for education. Mind, Brain, and Education, 2, 114–121.

Ennemoser, M. & Schneider, W. (2007). Relations of television viewing and reading: Findings from a 4-year longitudinal study.Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 349–368.

Schneider, W., Lockl, K. & Fernandez, O. (2005). Interrelationships among theory of mind, executive control, language development, and working memory in young children: A longitudinal analysis. In W. Schneider, R. Schumann-Hengsteler, & B. Sodian (Eds.), Young children's cognitive development: Interrelations among executive functioning, working memory, verbal ability, and theory of mind (pp. 259–284).Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Schneider, W., Wolke, D., Schlagmüller, M. & Meyer, R. (2004). Pathways to school achievement in very preterm and full-term children: The Bavarian Longitudinal Study. European Journal of Psychology in Education, 19, 385–406.

An erratum to this article can be found online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10212-013-0178-1.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Vannini, N., Enz, S., Sapouna, M. et al. “FearNot!”: a computer-based anti-bullying-programme designed to foster peer intervention. Eur J Psychol Educ 26, 21–44 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-010-0035-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-010-0035-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation