Findings indicate that both mandated and nonmandated participants considered the seriousness of the incident the most important determinant in whether or not to report the incident to child protective services. They differed, however, on the secondary factors they used in the reporting decision. For mandated reporters, their willingness to engage in prosocial behavior (attitude toward helping others) was also a significant predictor of reporting tendencies. Among nonmandated reporters, being a male and having a positive view of the effectiveness and competency of child protective service (CPS) agencies were significant predictors of reporting tendency. Overall, mandated and nonmandated reporters did not differ statistically on the mean number of vignettes considered reportable. The finding that confidence in CPS agencies influenced the reporting tendencies of nonmandated participants suggests that a better liaison between CPS and professionals required to report suspected child abuse could improve their reporting. In addition to recording their perceptions of the severity of emotional abuse portrayed in the vignettes, participants were administered the Perceptions of Teasing Scale, which assesses concern with teasing as a form of verbal aggression; the Attitudes Toward Helping Others Scale, which measures willingness to engage in prosocial behavior; the Scale to Measure Conservatism of American Public Opinion, which measures general political viewpoints; and the "diffuse responsibility" subscale of the Ascription of Responsibility Questionnaire, which measures preference for diffuse responsibility in decisionmaking. 3 tables and 61 references