Socially-Charged Pupil and Psychologist Effects On Psychoeducational Decisions

Abstract

We investigated the notion of school psychologist expectancy-bias against the socially disenfranchised child. Pupil race and social class were varied factorially in a bogus psychoeducational report mailed with related materials to 600 randomly selected members of APA Division 16 (School Psychology). Nearly 36% (N = 217) of the original sample returned usable data, including diagnostic impressions, remediation recommendations, and responses to a traditional moralism scale. School psychologists acquitted themselves well overall. However, relatively traditional respondents evaluated the middle-class black pupil as more mentally retarded than his lower-class counterpart and also recommended him more strongly for a custodial program at a separate school. Alternative explanations of these findings are discussed.