Perceived behaviours of liked and disliked adolescents: Comparing sports team and classroom contexts

Reports of the aggression, prosocial behaviour and athletic ability of liked and disliked recalled peers were collected from 122 10- to 13-year-olds. Differences between perceptions of liked and disliked peers, classroom and sports settings peers, and male and female participants were investigated. Hypotheses were guided by the person-group similarity hypothesis and the self-categorization hypothesis. Liked peers were perceived to be significantly more prosocial, athletic and less aggressive than disliked peers. Participants reported peers from sports teams as higher in prosocial behaviour and athletic ability than peers from classrooms. Males reported more aggression than females. A gender by setting by status interaction effect was significant for aggression. The largest effects were between liked and disliked peers suggesting that the behaviours of individuals are the most important consideration when studying social status among peers. Results also support the importance and further investigation of differences between social settings and genders.