Accuracy in judgments of aggressiveness.
Perceivers are both accurate and biased in their understanding of others. Past research has distinguished between three types of accuracy: generalized accuracy, a perceiver's accuracy about how a target interacts with others in general; perceiver accuracy, a perceiver's view of others corresponding with how the perceiver is treated by others in general; and dyadic accuracy, a perceiver's accuracy about a target when interacting with that target. Researchers have proposed that there should be more dyadic than other forms of accuracy among well-acquainted individuals because of the pragmatic utility of forecasting the behavior of interaction partners. We examined behavioral aggression among well-acquainted peers. A total of 116 9-year-old boys rated how aggressive their classmates were toward other classmates. Subsequently, 11 groups of 6 boys each interacted in play groups, during which observations of aggression were made. Analyses indicated strong generalized accuracy yet little dyadic and perceiver accuracy.
Kenny
David A
DA
Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, CT 06269-1020, USA. david.kenny@uconn.edu
West
Tessa V
TV
Cillessen
Antonius H N
AH
Coie
John D
JD
Dodge
Kenneth A
KA
Hubbard
Julie A
JA
Schwartz
David
D
D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D010988:Play and Playthings; D011287:Prejudice; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014481:United States; D014743:Videotape Recording; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology