The Peer Informant: Characteristics Related to the Perceptions of Peer Behavior Problems

Victimization and rejection by peers leads to and exacerbates behavior problems in children and adolescents. Given the implications of problematic peer relations for adolescents who experience behavior problems, the present study examined factors that may be related to how adolescents perceive peers who exhibit such problems. Specifically, the present study examined the relationship of adolescent informants’ socioeconomic status, their prior exposure to psychological symptoms, their perceived social acceptance, and their own behavior problems to their perceptions of peers’ internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, their liking and disliking of peers who exhibit such problems, and their attributions for the etiology of such problems when portrayed by fictitious peers of the same age. In particular, adolescents were asked to rate a set of vignettes portraying internalizing and externalizing behavior problems that are seen commonly in peers and to complete a set of brief questionnaires. Results revealed that adolescents were able to perceive the presence of both internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in vignette characters. Additionally, vignette characters who did not exhibit behavior problems were most likely to be approached and liked, whereas those vignette characters who displayed externalizing behavior problems were more likely to be disliked and ignored. Finally, although adolescents endorsed both internal and external etiological factors, ratings were related to the sex of the depicted vignette character and the nature of the portrayed behavior problems. Overall, this study provided additional evidence that, although adolescents can serve as valuable informants, they also tended to be rejecting of peers who display behavior problems.     

The Rokeach Value Survey and Social Desirability

Abstract

Social influence and social power were examined in two studies. In Study 1, samples of U.S. students who had been presented with randomly ordered lists of 13 influence tactics and power bases predicted the likelihood that an influence agent would use the tactics or power bases, for seven status-differentiated, hypothetical relationships. Lower status agents were perceived to use influence tactics, and higher status agents were perceived to use power bases. In Study 2, female students were assigned either a supervisory role or a subordinate role. The participants in the supervisory and subordinate roles identified power bases or influence tactics that had been rated by the participants in Study 1 as commonly used by higher or lower status influence agents, respectively. The results of the present study seem to support the notion that social influence and social power are separate strategies.     

The Effects of Clothing and Dyad Sex Composition on Perceptions of Sexual Intent: Do Women and Men Evaluate These Cues Differently1

The effects of clothing revealingness and dyad-sex composition on perceptions of male- and female-stimulus persons' sexuality were examined. Based on Abbey's (1982) findings, we hypothesized that men would attribute more sexuality to both male and female targets than women would. Furthermore, we predicted that the difference between men's and women's sexuality ratings would be most divergent when a male-female dyad was presented and when the female stimulus person wore revealing clothing. A laboratory study was conducted in which subjects viewed a photograph of two students in a classroom. As predicted, male subjects rated female targets as more sexy and seductive than did female subjects. Also as predicted, female targets who wore revealing clothing were rated as more sexy and seductive than those wearing nonrevealing clothing. Female targets were rated higher on sexual traits regardless of the gender of their partner. Men did not consistently perceive male stimulus persons more sexually than women did. Finally, both female and male targets were perceived as more kind and warm when they wore nonrevealing clothing. The implications of these findings for person perception and date rape research are described.     

The Value and Vulnerability of Perceived Religious Involvement

Abstract

The relation between sequential request influence strategies and social power was examined, using a social impact theory model of perception. It was predicted that a door-in-the-face (DITF) scenario would suggest a greater difference in power between a giver and seeker than a foot-in-the-door (FITD) scenario would. Two judgment studies using American students at two different universities measured the perceived power of two individuals, the favor giver and the favor seeker, in either the DITF or the FITD. In both studies, the subjects perceived a significantly greater power difference between the giver and the seeker in the DITF strategy than they did in the FITD.     

Perceived responsibility for disease onset affects HIV/AIDS Education

Abstract

Ninety-nine participants were assigned to one of three experimental conditions in which they viewed an AIDS education videotape that systematically manipulated whether or not the educator would be perceived as responsible for HIV infection. Participants were administered pre and post-video affect measures, and an HlV/AIDS knowledge test after watching the video. Participants who viewed the speaker who acquired HIV through a blood transfusion (perceived not responsible) and those who viewed the speaker who did not reveal mode of acquisition (control) performed significantly better on the knowledge test compared to those who viewed the speaker who acquired HIV through unprotected sexual inttrcourse (perceived responsible). In addition. male participants in the perceived responsible condition reported a significant increase in sensation-sceking after viewing the video. Finally, females experienced a significantly greater increase in anxiety as a result of seeing the video than did males. Implications of these tindings for the design and implmentation of AIDS education programs were discussed.     

The Impact of Social Comparisons After Failure: The Moderating Effects of Perceived Control

It was proposed that the impact of upward and downward social comparisons on affect and behavior following failure is moderated by perceived control. Subjects who failed an initial test were led to believe that it was either possible or impossible to improve performance on a second test and were exposed to information indicating that others either had done better or had done worse on the first test. As predicted, those who believed that they had little control over their subsequent outcomes and who were exposed to upward comparisons reported greater depressive and hostile affect and persisted less on the second task relative to other subjects. In addition, subjects who had low perceived control showed more interest in additional comparison information when they believed that others had done worse than when they believed that others had done better. Those who believed that they had high control did not show this preference. Findings suggest that upward comparison is debilitating only when accompanied by low perceived control. Further, exposure to downward comparison information may prevent some of the negative effects that have previously been associated with low personal control.     

The role of gender and gender role similarity in readers' identification with story characters

This study tested the hypothesis that adult readers would identify with story characters who display a similar gender role orientation. Male and female readers rated their identification with male and female characters who acted in either a masculine or feminine manner in short story vignettes. The primary finding was an interaction between gender role of reader and gender role behavior of character: as predicted, androgynous and undifferentiated readers identified equally with both masculine and feminine characters, masculine readers identified more strongly with masculine characters than feminine characters, and feminine readers identified more strongly with feminine characters than masculine characters. Further, androgynous readers identified somewhat more strongly with both types of characters than undifferentiated readers. However, the predicted effect of gender similarity between reader and character did not exert a strong influence on the identification process. In addition, feminine subjects reported greater identification across all four stories than masculine and undifferentiated subjects. Finally, of three questionnaire measures of empathy tested, only Davis's (1983) Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Empathic Concern subscale) significantly predicted general level of identification; as expected, these scores were significantly correlated with femininity gender role scores.     

Abstract construals make the emotional rewards of prosocial behavior more salient

Although previous research has shown that helping others leads to higher happiness than helping oneself, people frequently predict that self-serving behavior will make them happier than prosocial behavior. Here, we explore whether abstract construal – thinking about an event from a higher level, distanced perspective – influences predictions about how rewarding prosocial actions will be for people’s own well-being. In Experiment 1, Hurricane Katrina volunteers who adopted an abstract construal predicted that their efforts would be more rewarding than did volunteers who adopted a concrete construal. Experiment 2 provided a conceptual replication with a hypothetical donation scenario; people who adopted an abstract rather than concrete construal predicted that giving more money would be more rewarding than giving less. These findings suggest that people are more likely to appreciate the emotional benefits of prosocial actions when they adopt high-level construals than when they adopt low-level construals.     

Understanding of moral emotions and social exclusion in pre-schoolers and third graders

Abstract

This study examined whether children use information about moral emotions when judging peer exclusion. Japanese pre-schoolers and third graders (N = 110) listened to stories featuring characters who felt happy or sad after engaging in immoral behaviour or avoiding immoral behaviour (pushing a child off a swing and stealing another child’s doughnuts). In study 1, participants judged the extent to which characters who felt happiness, guilt, and pride would be socially excluded. In study 2, participants judged whether characters who felt guilt, no guilt, pride, and no pride would be socially excluded. Participants believed that characters would be socially excluded based on moral emotions. Characters who did not feel guilt or pride were excluded more frequently relative to those who did; however, children found it easier to judge exclusion based on guilt rather than pride, especially in the case of pre-schoolers. Moreover, pre-schoolers had difficulty explaining their reasoning.     

Achievement goals and gender effects on multidimensional anxiety in national elite sport

ObjectivesThe present paper examined the roles of achievement orientation, perception of the motivational climate, and perceived ability on performance trait anxiety in a sample of national level elite athletes. Gender differences in these relationships were also examined.DesignCross-sectional.MethodsOne hundred and ninety national elite athletes (male, n=101 and female, n=89) from individual sport completed Norwegian measures of goal orientation, perceived motivational climate, perceived ability, and multidimensional performance anxiety.ResultsFemale and male national elite athletes were similar in achievement orientations and had similar perceptions of the motivational climate. Females reported higher levels of performance worry, concentration disruption and somatic anxiety than males. Orientations did not predict performance anxiety for either gender, however perceptions of a performance climate predicted performance worry for both genders, and concentration disruption for females. Perceived ability predicted less performance worry for females and males. Perceived ability did not moderate the effects of the perceived motivational climate on performance anxiety, and neither did the results meet the criteria for testing mediation.ConclusionsThe extant motivational climate has an effect on performance anxiety, and coaches would be well advised to consider this when working with national elite athletes.     

Children's evaluations of provocation between peers

The present study examined children's evaluations of potentially conflictual situations between peers. Eight- and 11-year-olds evaluated two hypothetical target children in three scenarios which differed as to the intent of a provocative act (Accidental, Ambiguous, Hostile). In addition to grade and sex, relationship between targets was manipulated as a between-subjects variable with targets portrayed as either Best Friends Acquaintances, or Enemies. Children evaluated targets in terms of attributions of intentions, behavior response, affective state of targets, and mutual liking between targets. Results indicated that aggressor's intentions and victim's behavior response were evaluated as positive for the Accidental scenario and as negative for the Hostile scenario regardless of target relationship. When aggressor's intentions were unclear (e.g., Ambiguous), interactions between Best Friends and interactions between Acquaintances were evaluated as positive while interactions between Enemies were perceived as negative. Further, while all children predicted a negative response by the victim during the Hostile situation, younger children predicted the victim's response would be less negative than did older children. Children reported Best Friends and Acquaintances as liking each other more before the provocation situation started than after it occurred while liking between Enemies remained unchanged, thus indicating a belief that provocations may hurt a positive or neutral relationship. Targets were perceived to be in negative affective states during the Accidental and Ambiguous scenarios and the aggressor was perceived to be in a neutral affective state during the Hostile scenario. Results are discussed in terms of previous research on response to provocation and implications for research on children's peer conflicts. Aggr. Behav. 23:417–431, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

A longitudinal analysis of the relationship between self-compassion and the psychological effects of perceived stress

ABSTRACT

Self-compassion is consistently associated with psychological well-being, but most research has examined their relationship at only a single point in time. This study employed a longitudinal design to investigate the relationship between baseline self-compassion, perceived stress, and psychological outcomes in college students (n = 462) when the outcomes were measured both concurrently with perceived stress and after a lag of six months. Self-compassion moderated the effects of perceived stress such that stress was less strongly related to depression, anxiety, and negative affect among participants who scored high rather than low in self-compassion. Self-compassion also moderated the effects of perceived stress on depression and anxiety prospectively after six months. Self-compassion predicted positive affect but moderated the effects of perceived stress on positive affect in only one analysis. This study suggests that high self-compassion provides emotional benefits over time, partly by weakening the link between stress and negative outcomes.     

Aggression and social status: the moderating roles of sex and peer‐valued characteristics

Research on peer rejection has long emphasized links between aggressive behavior and peer liking, with aggressive children and adolescents being more rejected by peers. However, recent research shows that at least some aggressive students enjoy considerable power and influence and are perceived as “popular” within the peer group. To understand the processes underlying links between aggression and social status, the present research considered three distinct indices of social status (social preference, perceived popularity, and power) and investigated the degree to which the possession of peer‐valued characteristics moderated the links between status and aggression and whether these links varied by sex. A sample of 585 adolescents (grades 6–10) completed peer evaluation measures assessing social status, aggression (overt/physical, indirect/relational), and the degree to which peers possessed eight different peer‐valued characteristics (e.g., attractiveness, athleticism, etc.). Although sociometric indices of status were significantly related to perceived popularity, especially for boys, perceptions of power were more strongly linked to perceived popularity than to sociometric likeability. Moreover, the three indices of social status were differentially related to peers' assessments of aggression and to peer‐valued characteristics, with notable sex differences. As predicted, regression analyses demonstrated that the observed relationships between social status and aggression were moderated by the possession of peer‐valued characteristics; aggressive students who possessed peer‐valued characteristics enjoyed higher levels of perceived popularity and power and less disliking than those who did not. This relationship varied as a function of sex, the type of aggression considered, and the status construct predicted. Aggr. Behav. 32:396–408, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Sex, Lies, and Video Games: The Portrayal of Male and Female Characters on Video Game Covers

Two hundred twenty-five console video game covers obtained from online retail sites were examined for portrayals of men and women. We hypothesized that males would be portrayed more often, but that females would be portrayed in a more hyper-sexualized manner. Male characters were almost four times more frequently portrayed than female characters and were given significantly more game relevant action. However, in spite of their less frequent appearance, female characters were more likely to be portrayed with exaggerated, and often objectified, sexiness. Further, violence and sexiness was paired more frequently for female characters than violence and muscular physiques for the male characters. The potential influence these negative portrayals could have on gamers is discussed.     

Perceived Consensus in Estimates of the Prevalence of Driving Errors and Violations

This paper reports a study of perceptions of the prevalence of certain driving errors and violations in a large ( N = 1,656) sample of drivers. In keeping with previous research on perceptions of social consensus, it was predicted that (a) drivers who reported that they themselves regularly commit these errors and violations would make larger estimates of the percentage of other road users who regularly engage in these behaviors, by comparison with drivers who reported that they do not regularly commit these errors and violations; (b) comparison of estimates of social consensus for own behavior with the actual numbers of respondents reporting that they did or did not engage in these behaviors would show that those who do commit the behaviors regularly would overestimate consensus for their position, while those who do not commit the behaviors regularly would underestimate consensus for their position; and (c) these tendencies to overestimate or underestimate actual consensus for own position would be correlated with the perceived offensiveness to others of the behavior concerned, such that departures from actual consensus would be greater for behaviors rated as more offensive. The results provide strong support for the first two predictions but none for the third; indeed, the degree of over- or underestimation tended to be inversely related to offensiveness. In addition, there were unanticipated but highly consistent sex and age differences in perceptions of the prevalence of the target behaviors, with female and younger respondents making higher estimates than male and older respondents, respectively. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Is the world a just place? Countering the negative consequences of pervasive discrimination by affirming the world as just

Two studies (a) explored the role of pervasiveness of discrimination (pervasive vs. rare) in determining targets' responses to discrimination, and (b) examined the extent to which threats to participants' worldview can account, in part, for detrimental effects of pervasive discrimination. As predicted, across both studies, pervasiveness of discrimination moderated the relationship between attributions to prejudice for failure to obtain a job and psychological well-being (depressed affect and state self-esteem). When discrimination was presented as pervasive, attributions to prejudice related to lower state self-esteem and greater depressed affect. When discrimination was portrayed as rare, attributions to prejudice were related to higher state self-esteem and unrelated to depressed affect. Study 2 further showed that being able to affirm the world as just countered the negative consequences of pervasive discrimination, whereas it did not influence responses to discrimination that was perceived as rare.     

Gender and the self-presentation of academic achievement

Two experiments were conducted in which first-year male and female subjects (75% white; 25% minorities) at a highly selective liberal arts college predicted their first-semester grade point averages (GPAs). The first experiment varied whether predictions were given publicly or privately when an incentive for accuracy was either present or absent. Whereas the actual GPAs obtained by women did not differ from those obtained by men, women predicted that they would receive lower GPAs than men predicted, but only in the public condition. Whether incentive was present or absent did not affect predictions. The second experiment varied whether predictions were given publicly or privately as well as the perceived achievement of the experimenter. Once again, women's actual GPAs did not differ from men's. However, women predicted that they would receive lower GPAs than men predicted, but only when their estimates were given publicly to a low-ability experimenter. Although previous research has concluded that gender differences on performance estimates is attributable to a lack of confidence among women, these results suggest that the gender difference may be (at least partly) attributable to self-presentational style. It appears that women in this study adopted a modest self-presentational style that was motivated by attempts to protect the self-esteem of the experimenter.We are especially grateful to Rob Abel, David McGill, and Melinda Varn for their help in data collection.     

Reducing emotional reasoning: An experimental manipulation in individuals with fear of spiders

We investigated the effects of smiling on perceptions of positive, neutral and negative verbal statements. Participants viewed computer-generated movies of female characters who made angry, disgusted, happy or neutral statements and then showed either one of two temporal forms of smile (slow vs. fast onset) or a neutral expression. Smiles significantly increased the perceived positivity of the message by making negative statements appear less negative and neutral statements appear more positive. However, these smiles led the character to be seen as less genuine than when she showed a neutral expression. Disgust + smile messages led to higher judged happiness than did anger + smile messages, suggesting that smiles were seen as reflecting humour when combined with disgust statements, but as masking negative affect when combined with anger statements. These findings provide insights into the ways that smiles moderate the impact of verbal statements.     

Seeking Social Connectedness: Interdependent Self-Construal and Impression Formation Using Photographic Cues of Social Connectedness

ABSTRACT

Impression formation research has traditionally focused on either the characteristics of the target or of the participant, failing to examine their interplay. In the present study, we explored the role of interdependent self-construal on ratings of others who are portrayed as alone or connected. We hypothesized that participants with an interdependent view of the self would prefer others who are portrayed as socially connected, while the opposite would be true for participants low on interdependence. Results showed that college students high on interdependence rated a university professor photographed with another person relatively more positively than a professor photographed alone. This pattern was reversed for participants low on interdependence.