Presentation of: 'The role of personality traits and emotional intelligence in predicting social aggression: what makes a bully?'

Social aggression is becoming an increasingly widespread and prevalent problem in society today. To investigate the relationship between psychopathic personality traits and emotional intelligence with social aggression, 454 participants recruited via Facebook and email completed a questionnaire measuring each of these variables. The questionnaire was constructed using three scales of measurement: the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale III – Revised, the Trait-Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire – Short Form, and the Indirect Aggression Scale – Aggressor Version. Social desirability was also measured. As hypothesised, there were significant correlations between psychopathic traits and emotional intelligence; psychopathic traits and social aggression; and emotional intelligence and social aggression. It was also found that psychopathic traits and emotional intelligence significantly predict social aggression. These findings suggest that there are many underlying factors that contribute to an individual being classed as a “bully”, and provide insight into the relationships between these factors.