Role Anticipation for Third-Grade Boys and Girls Questionnaire

Abstract

The Role Anticipation for Third-Grade Boys and Girls Questionnaire (RATGQ), developed by Walder, Abelson, Eron, Banta, and Laulicht in 1961, was designed as a component of a larger peer-rating measure of aggression intended for use with third-grade elementary school children. This instrument employs 35 dichotomous items (Yes/No format) structured as role anticipation questions to elicit judgments regarding social norms and behaviors related to gender. The core mechanism involves assessing expectations, which helps control for issues related to social desirability bias.

The RATGQ is notable for its parallel structure, featuring distinct versions tailored for boys and girls. While the majority of items focus on general aggressive behavior (e.g., “Do girls throw things at children?”), a subset addresses aggression-anxiety (e.g., “Do boys always feel bad about saying swear words?”). To mitigate potential response set issues and provide a non-verbal buffer, the questionnaire administration is paired with the House-Tree-Person (HTP) projective test. Although the resulting single score was deemed dependable based on rigorous item development and selection processes, the original authors explicitly stated that the measure should not be accepted as valid without further investigation.

Keywords

Aggressive Behavior, Peer Ratings, Elementary School Students, Social Desirability, Test Development, Interjudge Reliability, Gender Role Expectations, Gender Role Attitudes, Aggressiveness, Aggression-Anxiety, Attitude Measures, Peer Evaluation, Test Construction, Social and Interpersonal Measures.

Authors

Walder, Leopold O., Abelson, Robert P., Eron, Leonard D., Banta, Thomas J., Laulicht, Jerome H.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Role Anticipation for Third-Grade Boys and Girls Questionnaire is to systematically assess how elementary school students perceive and anticipate gender-specific role expectations concerning aggressive behavior. By shifting the focus from self-report (which is highly susceptible to social desirability) to perceived peer behavior (role anticipation), the instrument attempts to capture underlying attitudes about what is acceptable or typical aggression for boys versus girls.

The measure serves as an indirect method of evaluating children’s understanding of gender role attitudes related to conflict and assertiveness. It was specifically developed in the context of research seeking robust, quantifiable measures of aggression suitable for young children in a classroom setting, contrasting with direct observation or teacher ratings.

Construct

The RATGQ measures two interconnected psychological constructs: Gender Role Attitudes and Peer Aggression perception. The scale does not measure an individual’s actual aggression level directly; rather, it quantifies the child’s belief system about the prevalence and acceptability of aggressive acts within their gender group or the opposite gender group.

The items are further subdivided into those addressing general aggressive acts and those targeting Aggression-Anxiety—the perceived negative emotional or social consequences associated with aggressive behavior (e.g., feeling bad or worrying after acting aggressively). This differentiation allows researchers to explore not just the expected frequency of aggression but also the internalized moral or social constraints surrounding it.

Validity

The original authors explicitly noted that they did not accept the measure as “valid” at the time of publication (1961), suggesting caution regarding its interpretation. While the development process was rigorous in terms of item selection based on clarity and reliability, formal statistical validation studies (such as concurrent or predictive validity analyses) were not detailed or conclusive enough to satisfy the developers.

Therefore, researchers using the RATGQ must acknowledge its limitations regarding established validity evidence. The instrument primarily offers a measure of social perception and expectations rather than a direct, validated measure of underlying personality traits or behavioral frequency.

Reliability

The scale development emphasized establishing strong measurement dependability. Items were meticulously selected from a larger pool based on criteria including semantic clarity, relevance to the construct, and high levels of interjudge reliability (consistency among independent raters during the item selection phase). The resulting single score derived from the 35 dichotomous items was found to be highly dependable.

Furthermore, the reliability of the score was demonstrated to be robust against minor procedural variations. Specifically, the score was found not to be sensitive to the location of the respondent’s name on the response sheet, the context in which the item appeared, or retest intervals, suggesting high temporal stability and consistency under varying administration conditions.

Factor Analysis

No factor analysis was indicated or reported in the original documentation regarding the internal structure of the 35 items. The scale generates a single, unified score of role anticipation regarding aggression, implying that the authors treated the measure as unidimensional, although the presence of distinct Aggression and Aggression-Anxiety item clusters suggests potential subfactors that were not formally analyzed.

Instrument

Test Type: Inventory/Questionnaire; Attitude Measures (Indirect Peer Anticipation)

Format: 35 dichotomous items (Yes/No response choices) administered in two parallel forms (Boys’ version and Girls’ version). The administration includes a non-scored buffer activity, the modified House-Tree-Person (HTP) drawing task.

Language Available: English (Original Publication)

Population Group: Human

Age Group: Elementary School Children (Approximately 8–9 years old)

Population Details: Sample drawn exclusively from Third Grade Students.

Test Methodology: Test Development and Standardization process focusing on Interjudge Reliability and item clarity, designed specifically for peer-rating measure research methodologies.

Keywords

Role Anticipation, Aggressiveness, Peer Aggression, Gender Roles, Elementary Education, Psychological Testing, Dichotomous Scale, HTP Test, Social Expectations, Test Construction, Interrater Reliability, Aggression-Anxiety.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: The measure is indicated as available for use in Research/Teaching purposes.

Fee: No fee information provided; standard use typically falls under academic fair use due to age of publication.

Test Year: 1961 (Year of publication/documentation).

Reference’s

Walder, L. O., Abelson, R. P., Eron, L. D., Banta, T. J., & Laulicht, J. H. (1961). Development of a peer-rating measure of aggression. Psychological Reports, 9, 497–556. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1961.9.3.497

Buck, J. N. (1948). The H-T-P technique: A qualitative and quantitative scoring manual. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 4, 317–396. (Reference for the inclusion of the House-Tree-Person (HTP) drawing activity).

Items of the Role Anticipation for Third-Grade Boys and Girls Questionnaire

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

The questionnaire consists of two parallel forms (e.g., Form Agb and Form Bbg) used with third-grade students. Each form contains 35 dichotomous items related to Aggression and Aggression-Anxiety.

Form Agb Items (Aggression items, Questions A1-C6, relating to Girls):

• A 1. Are girls smart alecks?
• A 2. Do girls start a fight over nothing?
• A 3. Do girls say mean things?
• A 4. Do girls try to take other children’s things?
• A 5. Do girls make it hard for children to get things done?
• A 6. Do girls always scold when playing a game with other children?
• A 7. Do girls always fight back if someone else hits them first?
• A 8. Do girls take things ahead of their turns?
• A 9. Do girls bother children?
• A 10. Do girls push or shove children?
• B 1. Do girls say things about a child chat make other children laugh?
• B 2. Do girls complain to the teacher when she tells them what to do?
• B 3. Do girls trade unfairly?
• B 4. Do girls get very, very mad at times?
• B 5. Do girls make their own rules?
• B 6. Do girls throw things at children?
• B 7. Do girls often say something like, “I know something you don’t know?”
• B 8. Do girls grab things from other children?
• B 9. Do girls do things that bother others?
• B 10. Do girls use bad words when another child bothers them?
• C 1. Do girls spill things on children?
• C 2. Do girls get angry easily?
• C 3. Do girls whine or complain?
• C 4. Do girls ever steal?
• C 5. Do girls call children names?
• C 6. Do girls throw dirt at children?

Form Agb Items (Aggression-Anxiety items, Questions C7-D5, relating to Girls):

• C 7. Do girls always feel bad about saying swear words?
• C 8. Do girls always worry about what teacher will say when she comes back to a noisy room?
• C 9. Do girls ever get angry?
• C 10. Do girls worry about what they said when they were angry?
• D 1. Do girls fight when picked on?
• D 2. Do girls argue when they are right?
• D 3. Do girls run away from a fight?
• D 4. Do girls say, “Excuse me,” even when they have not done anything bad?
• D 5. Are girls always polite?

Form Bbg Items (Aggression items, Questions A1-C6, relating to Boys):

• A 1. Are boys pests?
• A 2. Do boys forget to return borrowed things?
• A 3. Do boys disobey the teacher?
• A 4. Do boys spit at children?
• A 5. Do boys get so mad at times that they do not know what they ate doing?
• A 6. Do boys say “please” when taking things?
• A 7. Do boys play too rough?
• A 8. Are boys rude to children?
• A 9. Do boys hit first in a fight?
• A 10. Do boys often say, “Give me that!”?
• B 1. Do boys make marks on the desk?
• B 2. Do boys pull children’s hair?
• B 3. Do boys take the teacher’s things without permission?
• B 4. Are boys always getting into trouble?
• B 5. Do boys say things like, “My father can beat up your father?”
• B 6. Do boys argue over nothing at all?
• B 7. Do boys take other children’s things without asking?
• B 8. Do boys fight a lot with other children?
• B 9. Do boys say cruel things to children?
• B 10. Are boys always looking for a fight?
• C 1. Do boys tattle to the teacher?
• C 2. Are boys rude to the teacher?
• C 3. Do boys hit other children?
• C 4. Do boys give dirty looks or stick out their tongues at other children?
• C 5. Do boys make up stories and lies to get other children into trouble?
• C 6. Do boys say mean things?

Form Bbg Items (Aggression-Anxiety items, Questions C7-D5, relating to Boys):

• C 7. Do boys always feel bad about saying swear words?
• C 8. Do boys always worry about what teacher will say when she comes back to a noisy room?
• C 9. Do boys ever get angry?
• C 10. Do boys worry about what they said when they were angry?
• D 1. Do boys fight when picked on?
• D 2. Do boys argue when they are right?
• D 3. Do boys run away from a fight?
• D 4. Do boys say, “Excuse me,” even when they have not done anything bad?
• D 5. Are boys always police?