| Abstract: | This study assessed differences in self-perceptions, peer perceptions, and attributions of relative responsibility for 20 aggressive and 18 nonaggressive boys. Subjects completed semantic differential ratings of themselves and of their peer partners following a brief competitive dyadic discussion, and research assistants also rated videotapes of the interactions. The four experimental cells consisting of aggressive and nonaggressive subjects interacting with similar and opposite-status peers were found to be appropriately comparable on actual behavior during the interaction task. The results indicate that aggressive boys' perceptual and attributional biases do operate in actual social interactions. In comparison with nonaggressive boys, aggressive boys minimized their perceptions of their own aggressiveness and perceived their peer partners as more aggressive than they themselves were. An opposite pattern was found for nonaggressive boys. The differences in perceptions and attributions were significantly evident only in dyads of boys with different behavioral status. The implications of this attributional pattern for perceived responsibility are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
