DISTORTED PERCEPTIONS IN DYADIC INTERACTIONS OF AGGRESSIVE AND NONAGGRESSIVE BOYS - EFFECTS OF PRIOR EXPECTATIONS, CONTEXT, AND BOYS AGE

This study examined distorted self- and peer perceptions in aggressive and nonaggressive boys at preadolescent and early adolescent age leve ls. Subjects completed semantic differential ratings of themselves and of their peer partners following two brief dyadic discussion tasks wi th competitive inductions and a game-playing task with a cooperative i nduction. Subjects also rated their expectations for self- and peer be havior prior to the two competitive interaction tasks. Research assist ants later rated videotapes of the interactions. Aggressive boys had m ore distorted perceptions of dyadic behavior as they overperceived agg ression in their partners and underperceived their own aggressiveness. These distorted perceptions of aggression carried over for aggressive boys into the third interaction task with a cooperative induction, in dicating these boys' difficulty in modulating these perceptions when t he overt demand for conflict is no longer present in the situation. Re sults also indicated that aggressive boys' perceptions of their own be havior after the first interaction task is substantially affected by t heir prior expectations, in comparison to nonaggressive boys who rely more on their actual behavior to form their perceptions.