Teacher judgments impact on students' academic development, yet studies have revealed only modest judgment accuracy. Identifying biases hampering judgment accuracy is crucial. The present study scrutinized one such bias, namely reference group effects on teacher judgments (i.e., systematic relations between class-average ability and teacher…

According to social referencing theory, cues peers take from positive and negative teacher behavior toward a student affect the student's peer liking and disliking status. The present study was the first to test the hypothesized mediation model connecting teacher behavior with peer liking and disliking status, via peer perceptions of teacher…

Teachers are often asked to nominate students for enrichment programs for gifted children, and studies have repeatedly indicated that students' intelligence is related to their likelihood of being nominated as gifted. However, it is unknown whether class-average levels of intelligence influence teachers' nominations as suggested by theory--and…

In 2 experiments, participants learned bone anatomy by using a handheld controller to rotate an on-screen 3-dimensional bone model. The on-screen bone either included orientation references, which consisted of visible lines marking its axes (orientation reference condition), or did not include such references (no-orientation reference condition).…