Modeling School Responses to Bullying as a Game

Abstract

This study proposes a game-theoretic model of school responses to bullying, with the aim of promoting appropriate action for social implementation. In responding to bullying, a single failure can lead to a loss of trust from the victim, making subsequent recovery efforts difficult. A victim's distress does not subside quickly but tends to ease gradually over time if no further harm occurs. This structure can be viewed as a repeated game where the school is the sole player. In this game, if the school fails in its response, a significant loss (increased distress, loss of trust) occurs, which does not recover quickly but diminishes over time if no new mistakes are made. The results of a simple simulation suggest that when a school's organizational climate is good (m=0.9), the goal achievement rate is 96.2%, whereas when the climate is poor (m=0.3), it remains at 1.6%. This indicates that the organizational climate is essential for an appropriate response. This model is intended for social implementation as a training tool for teachers and will contribute to deepening their understanding of bullying response.