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Middle school students overestimate normative support for aggression and underestimate normative support for nonviolent problem‐solving strategies
Author(s) -
Henry David B.,
Dymnicki Allison B.,
Schoeny Michael E.,
Meyer Aleta L.,
Martin Nina C.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2013.01027.x
Subject(s) - psychology , normative , aggression , moderation , social psychology , test (biology) , perception , developmental psychology , social norms approach , multilevel model , ethnic group , paleontology , philosophy , epistemology , neuroscience , machine learning , sociology , computer science , anthropology , biology
This study tested five hypotheses related to the accuracy of students' perceptions of school norms for aggression and nonviolent problem‐solving strategies with two cohorts ( n s = 852 and 968) of 6th‐grade students in 12 schools. Students consistently overestimated peer normative support for aggression and underestimated peer normative support for nonviolent problem‐solving strategies. This effect remained significant in tests of moderation by gender, ethnicity, and aggression level. Tests for moderation by the degree of provocation (e.g., if a student was hit first) and a test measuring actual norms from eighth graders and perceived norms from seventh graders suggested that the discrepancy was not due to self‐serving bias or social desirability. Longitudinal analysis found that the discrepancy remained through 8th grade. The discrepancy between actual and perceived norms has implications for risk and violence prevention, which are discussed.