Bias in Attributions of Positive and Negative Behavior in Children by School Psychologists, Parents, and Teachers

24 parents, 24 school psychologists, and 27 elementary school teachers viewed films of three different children and rated them using a 20-item, 9-point Likert-type instrument. The hypothesis that perceived socio-economic status and ethnic identification would differentially affect the three rater groups' attributions of positive and negative behavior was tested and supported. Results indicated that the three groups of raters were markedly different in their ratings of these children and that the children were rated more positively or negatively as a function of their socio-economic status and ethnic identification rather than as a function of their observable behavior.