Children's Reasoning about Peers' and Teachers' Intentions

Abstract

Hostile attribution bias (HAB) has been shown to predict aggressive behavior, especially towards peers. The current study examined whether a) this relationship is supported within an hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) framework, b) whether this relationship extends from aggression towards peers to conflict in relationships with peers and teachers, and c) whether HAB towards teachers versus towards peers differentially predicted conflict in relationships with teachers and peers. Results from 282 2nd to 4th grade boys in 74 classrooms a) supported the relationship between HAB and aggression, b) supported a relationship between HAB towards peers and conflict with peers and between HAB towards teachers and conflict with teachers, and c) revealed that, contrary to hypothesis, HAB towards teachers was an important predictor of conflict with both peers and teachers. These results support theory that HAB is related to broader relationship qualities (rather than just to aggression) and suggest that HAB towards teachers should be examined as a potential indicator of difficulties in both peer and teacher relationships.