The Nature of Children’s Stereotypes of Popularity Kathryn M. LaFontana, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT and Antonius H. N. Cillessen, University of Connecticut Abstract The present study investigated what types of attributions and expectations children have about peers who they believe are popular or unpopular with other children. Fourth and fifth grade children ( N = 135) were presented with pictures of several unac- quainted peers who were described as popular or unpopular ( or neither) . Children were then told about several hypothetical encounters between themselves and each of the peers and were asked to ex plain or rate what each peer’s response would be to that situ- ation. As hypothesized, children had negative stereotypes about children who they believed were unpopular, while stereotypes about children believed to be popular were a mixture of positive and negative elements. Results confirmed past research in suggest- ing that a distinction must be made between sociometric and perceived popularity. Gender differences were also discussed, because the stereotypes held by boys and girls differed in several respects. Keywords: peer relations; popularity; stereotypes; middle childhood; sex- differences Over the last 20 years, many social development researchers have studied the role of social cognitions in the establishment and maintenance of peer relationships (see Crick & Dodge, 1994, for a review). The manner in which a child thinks about his or her peers may have important consequences for the child’s behavior towards these peers, and for the peers’ behavior in return (Dodge & Feldman, 1990). Among the elements of social cognition that can be examined, attributions and the interpersonal expectations based on attributions play a prominent role (Fiske & Taylor, 1991). The attributions that a child makes for another’s behavior may lead to certain expectations, and conversely, a child’s expectations can influence the types of attributions he or she makes. Both attributions and expectations, in turn, © Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1998. Published by Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. Kathryn M. LaFontana, Department of Psychology, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT; Antonius H. N. Cillessen, Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut. This research was supported by a small faculty grant from the University of Connecticut Research Foundation awarded to the second author. The authors wish to acknowledge the undergraduates at the University of Connecticut and Sacred Heart University for their assistance both in running the study and in coding children’s responses. Parts of this research were presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Washington, DC, April, 1997. Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to Kathryn M. LaFontana, Department of Psychology, Sacred Heart University, 5151 Park Avenue, Fairfield, Connecticut 06432, USA. Electronic mail correspondence should be sent via Internet to lafontanak@sacredheart.edu.