I am looking for a validated instrument to study how people perceive others (e.g., how people without disabilities perceive those with disabilities, how people without children perceive those with children, etc.)
A "semantic differential" scale (first used by Osgood et al.) would enable you to compare people's perceptions of one group with their perceptions of another group. Search around on the web and you'll find plenty of information including validity info.
The two answers before give you an impression of tools to find special comparisons. If you are interested in the general perception of others you have a special instrument in OPD (Operationalized psychodynamic Diagnostics)
Although self-reports of how people perceive others are a necessity in most cases, I would be cognizant of the fact that there is a huge literature on "faking good", not only about oneself, but about one's views of others. Moreover, certain psychopathologies have as part of their diagnosis, the proclivity to manipulate, control, and lie about their true feelings.
One method that has been used to get around the tendency to hide one's true feelings about people (discrimination against persons because they are non-white, poor, certain nationalities, sexual orientation, etc) is to use the
Implicit Associations Test, Tony Greenwald at the U of Washington.
Clearly, this is not easy to use as a self-report measure, but you should still be aware of this advance in psychological science.
Although self-reports of how people perceive others are a necessity in most cases, I would be cognizant of the fact that there is a huge literature on "faking good", not only about oneself, but about one's views of others. Moreover, certain psychopathologies have as part of their diagnosis, the proclivity to manipulate, control, and lie about their true feelings.
One method that has been used to get around the tendency to hide one's true feelings about people (discrimination against persons because they are non-white, poor, certain nationalities, sexual orientation, etc) is to use the
Implicit Associations Test, Tony Greenwald at the U of Washington.
Clearly, this is not easy to use as a self-report measure, but you should still be aware of this advance in psychological science.