Question

In national surveys, parents consistently point to school safety as an important concern. One source of violence in junior high schools is fighting ("Self-Reported Characterization of Seventh-Grade Student Fights"" Journal of Adolescent Health [1998]: 103-109). To construct a knowledge base about student fights, a school administrator wants to give two surveys to students after fights are broken up. One of the surveys is to be given to the participants, and the other is to be given to students who witnessed the fight. The type of information desired includes (1) the cause of the fight, (2) whether or not the fight was a continuation of a previous fight, (3) whether drugs or alcohol was a factor, (4) whether or not the fight was gang related, and (5) the role of bystanders. a. Write a set of questions that could be used in the two surveys. Each question should include a set of possible responses. For each question, indicate whether it would be used on both surveys or just on one of the two. b. How might the tendency toward positive selfpresentation affect the responses of the fighter to the survey questions you wrote for Part (a)? c. How might the tendency toward positive selfpresentation affect the responses of a bystander to the survey questions you wrote for Part (a)?

Short answer

a. Survey questions have been proposed that relate to: the cause of the fight, whether it was a continuation of a previous conflict, if drugs or alcohol were involved, if it was gang-related, and bystanders' role. b. Fighters might present themselves in a more positive light, potentially skewing their responses about the cause, their involvement, and the roles of other components such as drugs or bystanders. c. Bystanders might also enhance their responses for a more positive self-presentation, downplaying or exaggerating their involvement as they see fit.

Step-by-step solution

Construct Survey Questions

a. The following are some potential survey questions: 1. \'What was the main cause of the fight?\': Responses could include disagreements, misunderstandings, personal issues, gang related issues, etc. This is to be asked on both surveys. 2. \'Was this fight a continuation of a previous conflict?\': Responses could be simply Yes or No. This question would also be posed on both surveys. 3. \'Did drugs or alcohol play a role in the incident?\': Responses would be Yes, No, or I don\'t know. This would be asked on both surveys. 4. \'Was this fight gang-related?\': Responses could be Yes, No, or Not Sure. This question would be on both surveys. 5. \'What role did bystanders play in the incident?\': Responses could be that they encouraged the fight, attempted to stop it, or just watched. This question would be asked on both surveys.

Analyze the Impact of Positive Self-Presentation for Fighters

b. Fighters might be inclined to present themselves in a positive light which could affect their responses. They might downplay their role in the conflict, or deny factors such as drugs, alcohol or gang involvement even if they contributed. They might also skew their answers regarding the cause, blaming the other party, and understate the involvement of bystanders to minimize the perceived gravity of the situation.

Analyze the Impact of Positive Self-Presentation for Bystanders

c. Bystanders might also lean towards a positive self-presentation, particularly downplaying their role in the incident. They might claim they attempted to stop the fight when they instead encouraged it, or that they simply observed. They may also skew their perspective on the cause, especially if they are friends with one of the participants.