Positive or Negative Teasing?

09/21/2017

Positive or Negative Teasing?

We could never have loved the earth so well if we had had no childhood in it...
George Eliot, 1819-1880, The Mill on the Floss

"When does teasing go too far?" asks Angela Grippo, PhD, in a Psychology Today article. Here is how she answers:

"Although we sometimes think of teasing as the slightly less evil twin of bullying, there are actually both good and bad types of teasing (Barnett, Burns, Sanborn, Bartel, & Wilds, 2004; Mills & Carwile, 2009). Good teasing, or what some researchers call pro-social teasing, is playful banter that is meant to express affection or affiliation…Pro-social teasing has a lot of benefits. It can be used to establish and maintain friendships, to express affection and resolve conflict with romantic partners, and to promote bonding and affiliation among a group of people, including colleagues in an office and players on a sports team (Keltner, Capps, Kring, Young, & Heerey, 2001; Keltner, Young, Heerey, Oemig, & Monarch, 1998; Turman, 2003).

"Bad (or anti-social) teasing includes hostile or aggressive behavior that is meant to hurt, humiliate, or harass someone. Aggressive insults between fans of different teams could fall under this category of teasing. As you might expect, this type of teasing is one of the most common forms of bullying. It can lead to lowered self-esteem, interpersonal difficulties, anxiety, and depression, and can erode group cohesion in a work or team environment (Barnett et al., 2004; Keltner et al., 2001; Mills & Carwile, 2009; Turman, 2003)."

Source: "When Does Teasing Go Too Far?" by Angela Grippo, PhD., November 25, 2013, Psychology Today

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