Friendship and Aggressiveness as Determinants of Conflict Outcomes in Middle Childhood

Abstract

The attributions and responses of aggressive and nonaggressive boys to ambiguously intended actions of friends and nonfriends were examined. Thirty-seven aggressive and 37 nonaggressive third- and fifth-grade boys were presented with descriptions of encounters between peers in which one child experienced a negative outcome as the result of the ambiguously intended actions of another. Neither aggressive nor nonaggressive subjects were influenced by the presence or absence of friendship between themselves and the child whose behavior they were asked to interpret or respond to. Aggressive subjects attributed more hostile intent than nonaggressive subjects when the objectionable action was directed at themselves but not when directed at others. Both groups of subjects predicted less hostile responses by themselves than by others. Although a significant degree of consistency was found between subjects' attributions and responses, it was also true that most hostile responses were predicted following nonhostile attributions. This finding is inconsistent with an attributionally based explanation of hostile reactive behavior.