Teacher perceptions of the classroom behavior of reflective and impulsive children

Four second-grade teachers completed the Classroom Behavior Inventory for every student in their class (N = 101). Subjects were classified as either reflective (N = 32) or impulsive (N = 32) by using the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFF). Teachers rated impulsive boys as less task-oriented and considerate than reflective children of either sex. On the other hand, impulsive girls and reflectives were rated comparably on these scales. Although impulsive girls were rated as more distractible than reflective girls, boys were perceived as more distractible than girls regardless of style. Differences were not observed among the four groups in teacher ratings of hostility, extraversion or introversion. Thus, the conceptual style of boys was found to influence teacher perceptions of their classroom behaviors, but that of girls had little effect on the way they were rated on the same behaviors.