The relation between perceived dissimilarity to peers, assessed with replicated multidimensional scaling (RMDS), and a host of peer-reported characteristics was examined with data collected from 478 students from 26 fourth-grade through sixth-grade classrooms. Three hypotheses as to why a student might be perceived as dissimilar to peers were examined. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that perceived dissimilarity was related positively to perceptions that a student was odd, socially excluded and withdrawn, bullying, and inattentive and negatively with being fun to hang around. Furthermore, peer-rejected students who were on the periphery of their group's RMDS space were behaviorally discriminable (i.e., more odd, inattentive, excluded, and shy or anxious) from peer-rejected students located more proximally to peers. It was argued that in early adolescence, when learning to fit in with peers is an important task, being perceived as dissimilar to others and on the periphery of the group's organizational structure appears to symbolize a failure to master that critical developmental task.
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