Reliability and Validity of Preschoolers' Perceptions of Peer Behavior

The purpose of the present study was to explore the reliability and validity of preschoolers' perceptions of peer's aggressive, prosocial, and nonsocial behavior in the classroom. Using a picture-sort procedure, a total of 63 children from two day care centers rated peers on a total of six behavioral descriptions. Children's responses to the rated items were intercorrelated and factor analyzed, and the entire measure was re-administered to a sample of the respondents. Furthermore, the information acquired from peer ratings was correlated with data obtained from teacher ratings and direct observations and with scores from measures of peer status and friendship. Results indicated that preschoolers were able to distinguish between classmates in terms of the various assessment criteria and that the stability of their perceptions varied depending on the types of behaviors assessed. Ratings for peer behaviors such as physical aggression and cooperative play were among the most stable measures and also yielded the highest correlations with both teacher ratings, observations, and sociometric criteria. Clear differences emerged between day care centers in the reliability and validity of preschoolers peer perceptions. The results are discussed in terms of preschoolers' awareness of various peer behaviors and in terms of the utility of children's peer perceptions as an approach to behavior assessment with young children.