Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026

An Experimental Analysis of Children's Ability to Provide a False Report about a Crime
Published on: May 3, 2016
Probing the depths of informant discrepancies: contextual influences on divergence and convergence
Anselma G Hartley1, Audrey L Zakriski, Jack C Wright
1Department of Psychology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA. anselma_hartley@brown.edu
Abstract:
This study examined how a contextual approach to child assessment can clarify the meaning of informant discrepancies by focusing on children's social experiences and their if…then reactions to them. In a sample of 123 children (M(age) = 13.30) referred to a summer program for children with behavior problems, parent-teacher agreement for syndromal measures of aggression and withdrawal was modest. Agreement remained low when informants assessed children's reactions to specific peer and adult events. The similarity of these events increased consistency within informants but had no effect on agreement between parents and teachers. In contrast, similarity in the pattern of social events children encountered at home and school predicted informant agreement for syndromal aggression and for aggression to aversive events. Our results underscore the robustness of informant discrepancies and illustrate how they can be studied as part of the larger mosaic of person-environment interactions.
Related Concept Videos
Understanding Deception
Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects
Confirmation Biases
Self-Discrepancy Theory
Correspondence Bias
Theory of Attribution I: Correspondent Inference Theory
