CHILDRENS PERCEPTIONS OF BEHAVIOR PROBLEM PEERS - EFFECTS OF TEACHER FEEDBACK AND PEER-REPUTED STATUS

In a Reputation X Feedback X Actor type (3 X 3 X 3) design, we examine d the influence of teacher feedback on children's evaluations of a hyp othetical peer presented as having one of three reputations. The subje cts (91 first and second graders) listened to an audiotape in which tw o boys described five hypothetical peers. Reputation information (like d, neutral, disliked) varied for only one of the actors (the target); the others were described in neutral terms. Then the subjects watched a videotape of the five boys in a classroom scene. In the video, two a ctors exhibited behavior consistent with that of rejected, behavior pr oblem children; the three other actors behaved appropriately. Teacher feedback to one of the behavior problem actors (target) varied across three conditions: (a) positive, (b) neutral, and (c) derogatory feedba ck. Analyses specific to the target actor revealed a significant effec t of feedback, with no effect of reputation or its interaction with fe edback. Feedback produced differential perceptions of the target actor across feedback conditions and had a discriminative influence on the subjects' perceptions of the other actors. Methodological improvements of the reputation manipulation and implications for classroom interve ntion are discussed.