Analysis of the Emotional Dynamics Associated with the Affective, Cognitive, and Behavioral Dimensions of Empathy among Adolescent Bystanders of Bullying Situations in Physical Education Classes

Bullying represents a major issue in physical education (PE) contexts. The role of bystanders is crucial, with their empathy being an essential lever to react to such situations. However, this empathy does not always seem to be a sufficient condition for action. This study examines highly empathic students, who are more likely to engage in helping behaviors, in order to analyze the emotions related to the different dimensions of empathy as well as the factors that facilitate or hinder bystander helping behaviors toward victims in the context of PE. The study is based on a qualitative approach involving interviews with 20 students aged 12 to 14. Each interview consists of recalling a critical incident of bullying observed during PE classes, as well as two open-ended questions on factors influencing bystander intervention in this context. The findings indicate that emotions related to affective empathy can influence the type of response adopted. They also reveal that the emotional vocabulary used to describe victims’ emotions is still developing, and that early adolescence represents a particularly favorable period for its enrichment. Moreover, although students may display high levels of empathy, certain characteristics of PE classes could nevertheless generate fear, thereby hindering empathic processes and limiting their translation into helping behaviors. This research provides a better understanding of the relationships between empathy, the characteristics of PE classes, and reactions to bullying in this context, while offering directions for future research and a foundation for researchers to design interventions that can be implemented in PE classes.