Children's perceptions of behavior problem peers: Effects of teacher feedback and peer-reputed status

In a Reputation × Feedback × Actor type (3 × 3 × 3) design, we examined the influence of teacher feedback on children's evaluations of a hypothetical peer presented as having one of three reputations. The subjects (91 first and second graders) listened to an audiotape in which two boys described five hypothetical peers. Reputation information (liked, 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 actors exhibited behavior consistent with that of rejected, behavior problem 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 feedback. Analyses specific to the target actor revealed a significant effect of feedback, with no effect of reputation or its interaction with feedback. 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 intervention are discussed.