Agreement and accuracy in children's interpersonal perception: A social relations analysis.

Abstract

Agreement and accuracy in children's interpersonal perceptions during middle childhood were studied in the school environment. Sociocultural and ecological theories led to the prediction that, in middle childhood, peers' interpersonal perceptions would show high levels of agreement with those of teachers and would be accurate. A social relations analysis of data from a 3-year, cross-sequential study revealed that throughout middle childhood, peer perceptions of cognitive ability, observable behavior and characteristics, popularity, and affect correlated reliably with teacher perceptions. In addition, peer and teacher perceptions of targets' cognitive ability correlated with standardized test scores. Self-other agreement lagged behind teacher-peer agreement. The conceptual and statistical advantages of the social relations analysis of children's interpersonal perceptions were also considered.

Bias and Accuracy of Children's Perceptions of Peer Acceptance: Prospective Associations with Depressive Symptoms

“…As children's cognitive abilities develop and they begin to rely on social comparisons to evaluate themselves, self-enhancing biases give way to more realistic self-perceptions. Still, there are individual differences in perceptual discrepancies in this age group just as there are in adolescence and adulthood (e.g., Kenny & DePaulo, 1993;Malloy, Yarlas, Montvilo, & Sugarman, 1996). The present study provides much needed information about the stability of individual differences in discrepant self-perceptions of children and the implications of these individual differences for depressive symptoms.…”

Seeing and being seen: Predictors of accurate perceptions about classmates’ relationships

“…In school-based studies, grade level is often used as a proxy to assess developmental effects. These studies indicate that children in higher grades are more accurate in judging how their own social status, behaviors, and abilities are perceived by peers (Ausubel, Schiff, & Gasser, 1952; Malloy, Yarlas, Montevilo, & Sugarman, 1996; Malloy et al, 2007). Children in higher grades also exhibit more agreement with the consensus of classmates on reports of the presence of peer relationships in classrooms (Cappella et al, 2012).…”

“…However, despite these distinctions in social cognition, research on gender differences in the accuracy of interpersonal perceptions has been mixed (Cillessen & Bellmore, 2011). Some studies have demonstrated that girls exhibit more accurate perceptions of their own or others’ competencies and social status than boys (e.g., Cillessen & Bellmore, 1999; LaFontana & Cillessen, 1999; Smith, Van Gessel, David-Ferdon, & Kistner, 2013) while others have found few or limited gender differences (e.g., Malloy et al, 1996; 2007). Additionally, while Cappella et al (2012) found that girls exhibited higher levels of agreement with the consensus of peers on the presence of relationships in a bivariate analysis, they found no gender differences in a hierarchical linear model that controlled for other individual and classroom effects.…”

Comparison of Peer, Teacher and Self-Assessments on Adolescent Direct and Indirect Aggression

“…Ledingham et al, 1982;Malloy et al, 1996;Younger et al, 1986). All of these information sources are widely used, focusing on slightly different aspects of aggression, and have their bene® ts as well as drawbacks.…”