1. Developmental theory
Some explanations of bullying draw upon an understanding of child development. They point out that bullying begins in early childhood when individuals begin to assert themselves at the expense of others in order to establish their social dominance. They tend at first to do so crudely, for instance by hitting out at others, especially those less powerful than themselves, in an attempt to intimidate them. But as Hawley (1999) points out, as children develop they begin to employ less socially reprehensible ways of dominating others. Verbal and indirect forms of bullying become more common than physical forms. In time, the kind of behaviour that is generally labelled as "bullying" becomes relatively rare. Consistent with