title: Actual and perceived sex and generational differences in interpersonal style: structural and quantitative issues.
abstract: This study investigated the validity of using the Interpersonal Checklist in self-ratings by older individuals and under across generation instructional sets by college students. Effects of sex of target and sex of rater were also investigated. Qualitative evaluation of correlation matrices indicated construct validity for the instrument for self-report instructions among the aged but that the matrices obtained under across generation instructions differed from the expected model. The implication for the heteroperception methodology is that dimensional or trait comparisons should be interpreted with caution. The quantitative results indicated significant generational differences and significant misperceptions of older adults by students. These findings suggest a hypothesis of interpersonal conflict between the generations with interpersonal dominance as a possible central issue.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001290:Attitude; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors