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School Psychology International
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The Biasing Effect of Information about Children's Temperamental Characteristics

Who is Assigned as 'Bad Boy'?

Uriel Last

Esther Spaser

School of Education, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

The potential of two temperamental characteristics, motor activity and mood quality, as possible risk factors for school maladjustment was studied by presenting dilemma stories to 218 subjects involved in teaching and education. Each dilemma story pertained to a transgression act (stealing or lying) committed in a classroom setting. It was suggested to the subjects that only one of two children present on the scene could be blamed. Each of the two involved was described in the narrative in some detail, both differing mainly on the level of one of the two temperamental characteristics studied. Results indicated that information about quality and level of temperamental characteristics of school children influenced the readiness of subjects to attribute 'bad' behavior to children with specific temperamental makeup. Children with higher as opposed to lower levels of ascribed motor activity are more prone to be suspected of committing transgression acts, although motor activity as such is devoid of any moral connotations. The findings shed some light on the mediating processes which may contribute to the risk value of certain temperamental characteristics for school adjustment.

School Psychology International, Vol. 16, No. 3, 283-290 (1995)
DOI: 10.1177/0143034395163004
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