{"id":58644,"date":"2023-03-10T05:20:58","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T10:20:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/the-science-behind-why-mean-girls-are-often-so-popular-even-as-adults-58644"},"modified":"2023-03-10T05:20:58","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T10:20:58","slug":"the-science-behind-why-mean-girls-are-often-so-popular-even-as-adults","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/the-science-behind-why-mean-girls-are-often-so-popular-even-as-adults-58644","title":{"rendered":"The science behind why ‘mean girls’ are often so popular \u2014 even as adults"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Everyone wants to be “in” with the popular crowd \u2014 even if the people in that crowd aren’t all that nice.<\/a><\/p>\n

Just as Regina George was the “it” girl in the 2004 film “Mean Girls,” there might actually be some science behind why people are attracted to friends<\/a> who possess a bit of an attitude.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A new study published in Elsevier\u2019s Evolution and Human Behavior revealed that making friends with unkind people actually could be a means of protection.<\/p>\n

AS EMERGENCY ROOMS SEE MORE OF AMERICA’S MENTALLY ILL KIDS, NEW STUDY PINPOINTS ISSUES<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Researchers at Oklahoma State University found that both men and women sometimes prefer friends who are likely to be “vicious” toward their enemies.<\/p>\n

Since our friends often interact with others, both positively and negatively, the study suggested that there should be varying preferences “not only for how our friends behave toward us but also for how friends behave toward \u2026 other people.”<\/p>\n

The study surveyed 1,183 individuals in student and non-student communities in the U.S. and non-student communities in India.<\/p>\n

The research revealed that although most people want friends who are kind and trustworthy, people sometimes prefer friends who are “more vicious” than they are friendly \u2014 for instance, “toward one\u2019s enemies,” the research revealed.<\/p>\n

NEBRASKA CHEERLEADER COMPETES ALONE AT STATE COMPETITION AFTER SQUAD BACKS OUT: \u2018PROUD OF MYSELF\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The “benefits of friendship depend, in part, on how much one\u2019s friends value oneself relative to others, and thus that a friend\u2019s behavior toward others can influence one\u2019s own outcomes,” the study explained.<\/p>\n

This means that although people want friends who are pleasant to them and to strangers, unpleasant and ferocious behavior can be forgiven if it\u2019s pointed at an adversary and in doing so, offer protection.<\/p>\n

“Specifically, people seem to prefer friends to behave in ways that maximize the friendship benefits one receives both via direct behavior (how friends behave toward oneself) and indirect behavior (how friends behave toward others),” the study found.<\/p>\n

Many friendship patterns \u2014 and the types of people we’re attracted to, as friends \u2014 begin in childhood, psychologists note.<\/p>\n

Also, mean kids can turn into that mean or even “vicious” adult.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Often, but not always, it was those frequently mean kids who became cruel adults,” according to the Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s website.<\/p>\n

REDDIT USERS SIDE WITH WOMAN WHO LEFT A WEDDING TO GO GET MCDONALD’S: ‘REALLY UPSET’<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

So how do parents create healthy patterns<\/a> for their own kids when it comes to making friends?<\/p>\n

Author and pediatrician Meg Meeker shared her reaction to the study findings with Fox News Digital (she was not involved in the study).\u00a0<\/p>\n

While friendships among children can be “complex,” she said, it\u2019s more expected of adults to foster friendships that are “kind, trustworthy, honest and somewhat altruistic.”<\/p>\n

“But this isn’t always the case,” said Meeker, who is based in Michigan<\/a>. “The vicious friends can presumably serve to keep one protected from harm.”<\/p>\n

She added, “After all, why else would one choose a friend with the ability to be mean?”<\/p>\n

As a physician who has cared for thousands of teens, Meeker said there\u2019s a reason why vicious friendships can arise in today\u2019s social ecosystem.<\/p>\n

Modern-day teens are exposed to more violence than in previous decades \u2014 and often it\u2019s glamorized, said Meeker.<\/p>\n

MAN YELLS AT GIRLFRIEND TO \u2018STOP F—–G EATING,’ SHE THEN CHARGES HIM WITH \u2018FAT-SHAMING\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“Violence can even become ‘glamorous’ in a twisted way,” she said. “This is what we see with kids in gangs.”<\/p>\n

She continued, “Violence toward another person seems normal [today], when 20 years ago it was considered horrendous.”<\/p>\n

Meeker added that kids today also feel more “isolated and vulnerable.”<\/p>\n

“When disconnected from the source of true protection and love [of] family or other healthy friends, they gravitate toward those who will ‘care for them’ by acting violent toward their enemy,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“In short, they prefer a vicious friend who would fight for them over a healthy friend who would refrain from harming another on their behalf,” she noted.<\/p>\n

Meeker suggested the “obvious problem” in this situation is that foul friends can turn around and point their anger toward those in their own circle at any time.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“This shows how vulnerable and needy kids are,” she said. “They are willing to take the risk that the vicious friend might turn on them in order to feel ‘protected’ and cared for by that friend.”<\/p>\n

Meeker said that 40% of children in the U.S. struggle with depression<\/a> \u2014 and that one of the “hallmarks” of the illness is self-contempt.<\/p>\n

“Depressed teens turn their anger on themselves but often fail to realize it because it is subconscious,” she said.<\/p>\n

“It makes sense, then, that kids who live with deep self-contempt would gravitate toward friends who don’t have their best interest at heart. And they are more comfortable with ‘friends’ who harbor mal-intent whether it is toward them or an enemy.”<\/p>\n

For this reason, Meeker said, it is “more critical than ever” for parents and loved ones to “pay close attention” to their teens’ moods and the circle of friends they keep.<\/p>\n

“The last thing that hurting kids need is unhealthy friendships,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/lifestyle\/science-behind-mean-girls-bullies-popular-even-as-adults <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyone wants to be “in” with the popular crowd \u2014 even if the people in that crowd aren’t all that nice. 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