Age, sex, and religious background as determinants of interpersonal perception among Dutch children: A cross-cultural validation

Abstract

Summary An investigation was conducted to determine the effects of age, sex, and religious background on interpersonal perceptions by 150 Dutch Calvinist and 150 Dutch Catholic boys and girls from three different age groups. The S s were asked to describe themselves, their father, mother, best male and female friends, teacher and most- and least-preferred co-workers. Interpersonal perception tests consisted of 24 bi-polar adjective scales with six-point intervals. The investigation was a cross-validation and extension of a previous study of American S s. The results indicated considerable similarities between the Dutch Catholics and Calvinists as well as between the Dutch and American S s. Males in both studies perceptually differentiated more among afult figures than did females. In both Dutch and American S s age significantly affected the perception of others and while the perceptual differentiation indices of the American S s increased as a monotonic function of age, the indices of the Dutch S s exhibited complex interactions. As in the American sample, Dutch females had higher esteem for self and others and they tended to assume more similarity to others. The differences in religious background led to very few significant findings which are interpretable at this time. The present investigation is of interest primarily in terms of the cross-cultural comparisons between Calvinists and Catholics and between Dutch and American S s. Both comparisons indicate the importance of the age and sex factors as determinants of interpersonal perception.