Format Differences and Salience Effects in the Social Problem-Solving Assessment of Aggressive and Nonaggressive Boys

Evaluated effects of differences in assessment formats on the abilities of aggressive and nonaggressive boys to generate alternative solutions to social problems. Twenty-one aggressive and 15 nonaggressive boys were randomly assigned to open-middle (spontaneous) or multiple-choice testing conditions. The aggressive boys who took the multiple-choice test produced significantly more verbal assertion, more help-seeking solutions, and fewer direct-action choices. The two groups still had significantly different patterns of verbal assertion and help-seeking solutions but no longer differed in rates of direct action. It appears that aggressive and nonaggressive boys' response patterns are differentially affected by the social-cognitive process of salience.