Abstract
Graham was a fourth-grader who appeared to be socially rejected by his peers. Several pieces of information supported this conclusion. For example, on a rating-scale sociometric measure, Graham received an average rating of 1.5 from his classmates, with 1 being the lowest possible rating one could receive on a 5-point scale. In addition, the classroom teacher had intercepted a note being passed around class which read, “Everybody who hates Graham, sign here” The page was filled with signatures. Graham’s social rejection, then, seemed quite clear. However, Graham characterized himself as the most popular child in the class, based on several pieces of seemingly convincing behavioral evidence. For instance, he was always chosen first for teams on the playground and was often voted leader for group projects. According to the teacher, Graham was quite competent in sports and highly intelligent, and peers often “used” him to their own advantage, leading Graham to believe he was well-accepted by his peers. Graham’s apparent misperception of his own social status clearly influenced his social behavior as well as his interpretations of peer behavior directed toward him. His self-perceptions also appeared to be quite different from those of other socially rejected children who seemed both aware of their poor peer acceptance and unhappy about it.
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Hymel, S., Franke, S. (1985). Children’s Peer Relations: Assessing Self-Perceptions. In: Schneider, B.H., Rubin, K.H., Ledingham, J.E. (eds) Children’s Peer Relations: Issues in Assessment and Intervention. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-6325-5_5
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