Boundaries between a Harmless Prank and a Malicious Test of Human Behavior

At what point does a harmless prank become a malicious test of human behaviour? The target audience of the article would be any member of the sociology community, and any other person who may have had a personal experience relating to the topic at hand. Members of society that are looking to observe the strength of the human spirit, or harmful patterns within social institutions may read the story as a means of study. Potentially the reader could be the victim of some method of bullying, or may have been the victim of some form of initiation or ‘hazing’ at some point in their lives. The age of the potential reader can span from early adolescence to those in adulthood. The reality of this question is that it reaches so many audiences due to the nature of the experience required. Two publications where this story could be found are the within the Life section of the “Globe and Mail” and the “Canadian Journal of Sociology” In order to successfully answer the question ``at what point does a harmless prank become a malicious test of human behaviour?`` one may think to acquire the opinions of a few on campus counsellors, as well as senior sociology students. Other`s that could be interviewed could be adults and adolescents that have committed pranks in the past to disastrous results. Also, the victims of pranks and hazing (possibly fraternity/sorority members), as well as specifically Anne McNeilly – Ass’t Professor of Informational and Visual Resources at Ryerson University could be interviewed due to their experiences with organized pranks and the like. Print resources that would be consulted would be the arc hives of “Canadian Journal of Sociology” as well as articles dealing with the subject of hazing like “14 high-school students charged over alleged hazing in Alberta” by Katherine O Neill , and “Students sent to hospital in prank with chemical” by Joe Friesen , from the Globe and Mail Archives. International sociology journals, precedential cases