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How Bullying Spreads — and How Social Bravery Stops It | Amy Cuddy | TED

How does bullying take root? Social psychologist Amy Cuddy got an inside view of this question after she became the target of a coordinated campaign to discredit her. Drawing on her own experience and years of research, she gives a clear-eyed analysis of how bullying reshaped our culture and how each of us can practice…

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How does bullying take root? Social psychologist Amy Cuddy got an inside view of this question after she became the target of a coordinated campaign to discredit her. Drawing on her own experience and years of research, she gives a clear-eyed analysis of how bullying reshaped our culture and how each of us can practice social bravery — everyday acts of standing up for one another — to end it. (Note: This talk contains discussion of suicide.) (Recorded at TED2026 on April 17, 2026])

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51 Comments

51 Comments

  1. @joshfactor1

    September 14, 2026 at 11:29 am

    they’re not entirely wrong, though; there is no scientific validity behind power posing

    • @emolaus

      September 14, 2026 at 11:37 am

      @joshfactor1 In any case it doesn’t give anyone the right to treat another human being like that.

    • @TardigradeTough

      September 14, 2026 at 2:27 pm

      ​@emolaus if it’s true that is, could be sour grapes coz her hypothesis failed

  2. @mkrafts8519

    September 14, 2026 at 11:30 am

    Change the word “bully” to “victim” her speech shows its true colors.

    • @oxymoron500

      September 14, 2026 at 2:40 pm

      How is a bully a victim?

  3. @harrypearle9781

    September 14, 2026 at 11:38 am

    HATER contains the same letters as HEART
    ===================================
    “Words from the HEART, enter the HEART” (Jewish saying)
    (Again, TRUMPISM is on the march, with BULLYING as its weapon. Democrats must find out how to RESPOND, now)

  4. @wildonez3076

    September 14, 2026 at 12:02 pm

    Gotta disagree love! Bullies are not rare at all. They are just covert. Go into any class room with a quiet outsider. And watch how people will easily exclude them in obvious ways. You should study people who aren’t bullies. That’s when your research will take any interesting direction. It’s very rare to find a person who will not take advantage to bully someone when everyone else does.

    Sit at a dinner table or meeting. And observe how they will feel comfortable with the person who is not talking to anyone. Very rarely will a person try to bring the other into the conversation. I have been studying this behavior for years, in an unofficial capacity. Maybe we can work together one day!!

    • @andrewchaplin3458

      September 14, 2026 at 12:31 pm

      Not the point.

    • @LaShelleMorrison

      September 14, 2026 at 12:38 pm

      @wildonez3076 well said… bullies are not rare! There may be levels of bullying, but to the individual being bullied, any level of bullying feels the same.

    • @franimal86

      September 14, 2026 at 6:19 pm

      @wildonez3076
      I willingly choose to be that person. Fly on the wall, if you will. It is not black and white.

    • @wildonez3076

      September 14, 2026 at 6:29 pm

      ​@LaShelleMorrison So true! There’s levels to it. And people will use the best method that’s available at that moment!

    • @wildonez3076

      September 14, 2026 at 6:36 pm

      ​@franimal86 You willingly choose to be an outsider? I’m trying to get clarification.

  5. @Jasonxbr

    September 14, 2026 at 12:10 pm

    Well prime example is the orangutan paedophile grifter and yet nothing is done to stop it – bully wise as lawsuits- DOJ and the FBI- FCC as well name calling of female reporters marked by sexist- misogyny – masculinity – degrading- clearly the system is broken and a complete failure 😢😢😢😢😢 Jesus Christ man my god we failed as a society 💔

  6. @gracetaylor5341

    September 14, 2026 at 12:15 pm

    💚

  7. @andrewchaplin3458

    September 14, 2026 at 12:24 pm

    Unfortunately, bullying is a virus.
    Thankyou for standing up, your words and feelings touched my heart.
    Yes, we are victims. And I totally understand how far they push us. Suicide only makes the bullies happy.
    Remember one thing. How dumb are these so called scientists or what ever they are, that they didn’t know naturally, with common sense, that posture can change how you feel about yourself. Maybe there is something on their posture, that can’t stand up…
    Another TED talk that is really worth seeing is , How Not to give a Fkuc. Spelt wrong on purpose. And remember, if you have a bucket of Fcuks, then make sure its empty, then you will have none to give.
    Use that awesome posture and that smile to stand taller and say, “your buckets empty, the oxygen thief called bully tried to win, but just like their lack of common sense and lack of education, they failed. You are still standing tall. Carma will come…..”

    • @michaeltrautman3930

      September 14, 2026 at 3:19 pm

      777hv

  8. @yawnbox

    September 14, 2026 at 12:30 pm

    what an outstanding, courageous talk, thank you

  9. @SmartMart1658

    September 14, 2026 at 12:32 pm

    Donald Trump is a bully. Putin is a bully. Kim Jong Un is a bully. The world would be a better place without them.

    • @franimal86

      September 14, 2026 at 6:21 pm

      You ever hear the story of the hydra?

  10. @Nashy119

    September 14, 2026 at 12:51 pm

    I don’t think there’s a singular bully mindset because I’ve heard former bullies talk about other things, like just being very jealous of somebody. The followers are most interesting. The people who enthastically argue for whatever they feel is the social consensus, or join in mindlessly, only to flip in a panic as soon as they feel push back. They don’t really do anything except amplify.

    • @sharonsekhon9475

      September 14, 2026 at 3:22 pm

      That’s one of her points.

  11. @nessidoe8080

    September 14, 2026 at 1:09 pm

    There is nothing good unless YOU do it! You and me! Not the other person, not the government (no matter where on the planet you live), not the corporations and certainly not ‘they’.
    You and me.

  12. @CaroNielsen

    September 14, 2026 at 1:15 pm

    Narcissist are everywhere

  13. @bellakim9404

    September 14, 2026 at 1:21 pm

    Bullying happens in all types of relationships… even within immediate family. It’s ok to walk away without an explanation and protect your peace!

    • @TardigradeTough

      September 14, 2026 at 2:33 pm

      When youre fully confident in yourself and your work anyone can say anything negative and it’s just water off a ducks back

    • @bellakim9404

      September 14, 2026 at 5:22 pm

      ​@TardigradeTough Your point is valid, yet we all possess a soul that feels. It’s a poignant human quality.

    • @franimal86

      September 14, 2026 at 6:26 pm

      Don’t feed the @Troll

    • @TardigradeTough

      September 14, 2026 at 6:35 pm

      ​@bellakim9404 oh ok can you point to this soul, show me where it is so I can take some measurements? What is it made of? Where exactly is it? Does it interact with normal matter? Ive 100 more questions like this but Ill keep this short

    • @mr.krazer4443

      September 14, 2026 at 6:58 pm

      ​@TardigradeTough Yes, but no one is invincible. It’s not a matter of negative words, but the right combination. And there’s always going to be weak spots in your armor.

  14. @TardigradeTough

    September 14, 2026 at 2:20 pm

    So she had a hypothesis which peers could not reliably replicate so when her theory got shot down she decided to become a professional victim instead of accepting the different findings tut tut 🙄

    • @oxymoron500

      September 14, 2026 at 2:44 pm

      Part of it was replicated, part wasn’t. A study that wasn’t successfully replicated isn’t necessarily wrong. It just means there were factors involved that the author wasn’t aware of.

    • @TardigradeTough

      September 14, 2026 at 2:50 pm

      ​@oxymoron500 possibly but equally possible is its just plain wrong and many of her peers seem to lean in that direction and she cant take the criticism

    • @oxymoron500

      September 14, 2026 at 2:56 pm

      ​@TardigradeTough Why do you say she can’t take criticism? She acknowledged that she made mistakes in the talk. But that’s not a reason to bully someone until they leave their job and almost kill themselves. Otherwise we would have hundreds of dead scientists every year.

    • @Nylak-Otter

      September 14, 2026 at 3:22 pm

      ​​@oxymoron500 Different people have differering abilities to handle even minor critique.

      For example, I have extreme social anxiety, so if a stranger criticizes my work I can’t handle it well and avoid the situation. I could easily be made to quit a job where others questioned by ability to perform my specialized duties well. Other people might just see this as constructive criticism and take it in stride, whereas I would not.

      (I take critique from recognized peers and friends well and actually enjoy it because I’m competitive, but strangers hurt my little feelings because I have low self esteem, apparently.)

      Someone doesn’t become a bully just because someone else can’t handle being criticized. That’s unfair to the one doing the criticizing, especially in a scientific field which REQUIRES harsh examination and critique to be effective. If she was wrong, she needs to be told she is wrong. If she disagrees, then others need to PROVE she is wrong and insist on it. That is science.

      I could say I’ve been bullied because someone hurt my feelings so badly that I have had suicidal ideation (which they have), but I don’t actually see it that way. I see it as me having severe social anxiety.

      She wasn’t bullied. She was told she was wrong, she couldn’t take it, and then she threw a public fit about how she couldn’t take it. If I’m wrong, and someone proves I’m wrong, I’m going to agree and then go hide in a corner quietly. She, instead, decided to make another TED talk about how someone dared prove her wrong.

    • @oxymoron500

      September 14, 2026 at 4:01 pm

      ​​@Nylak-Otter How do you know she’s sensitive? Do you know how she was bullied? What people said to her?

      Or a you just making assumptions?

  15. @amzarnacht6710

    September 14, 2026 at 2:42 pm

    ‘Bullying’ is a necessity.
    It helps us establish our sense of self, our boundaries, our responses. How we handle social situations. It helps is, as we grow, to create the social scaffolding of our response and interaction behaviors. The casual bullying we deal with as children and young adults is like illnesses – an external ‘cold’ or ‘flu’ that our body adapts to and learns how to manage and eliminate.

    Unending, relentless bullying, however, just like any other illness becomes a cancer and there is only one way to remove it – directly, and with extreme measures. That, too, builds the scaffolding for our personal social foundation.
    That’s why, with the advent of the internet and social media, bullies hide behind the protection of their screens as shields to keep them from being dealt with by the object of their bullying.

    • @oxymoron500

      September 14, 2026 at 2:47 pm

      You can set your boundaries without bullying. I can’t think of a situation that requires bullying. Could you give an example?

  16. @sharonsekhon9475

    September 14, 2026 at 3:20 pm

    Academia is full of small minded fascists, and Harvard leads group.

  17. @aNicerPlace

    September 14, 2026 at 4:28 pm

    After watching the original on power stances and the whole ‘fake it ’til you make it’ ethos, I find it somewhat ironic that the now older & presumably wiser Amy is displaying emotional victimhood. 🤔

  18. @saeedseify2131

    September 14, 2026 at 5:10 pm

    Can you send me a free computer? It’s a economic war zone here, and I have no entertainment.

  19. @franimal86

    September 14, 2026 at 6:01 pm

    I remember her talk. She is wonderful. I lament with you. I share your pain. Men should cry. Men should talk less and listen more. It is shameful. A tragedy, really. They are both the victim and perpetrator. Men police themselves. I’ve seen it for 40 years, and I’m, well, 40 years old.

  20. @wildonez3076

    September 14, 2026 at 6:30 pm

    Writing you secret notes! Those weren’t your friends. They just wanted you to think that they were your friends.

  21. @bellasciortino5403

    September 14, 2026 at 7:44 pm

    Thank you, Amy, for speaking up about such an important topic. This talk is truly inspiring!

  22. @Boywonder0531

    September 14, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    Yes I love this. So amazing to see Amy follow up her 2012 talk with this.

  23. @doctorladymd

    September 14, 2026 at 8:37 pm

    Bravo! My heart is full. Thank you for this message we all need to hear, and practice.

  24. @kyraocity

    September 14, 2026 at 9:27 pm

    Because she was a woman, because it was about bodies, and they don’t care about science, They care about a woman getting what they can’t. Male colleagues get what they screen for when it comes to patriarchal oppression. Minimize when they make you realize what works can be simple and provable.

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