Social Comparison and Self-Evaluation of Competence by 5- and 6-Year-Old Children

概要

論文の詳細を見る
The present study was aimed at clarifying the relation between social comparison and changes in self-evaluation by young children, and at examining factors that may contribute to those changes. In Study 1, 5- and 6-year-old children (N=63) evaluated the competence of self, ideal, and real friends in athletics, art, an intellectual domain, and a social domain. In Study 2, 5- and 6-year-old children (N=67) evaluated the competence of self and a real friend in their most and least favorite activities in athletics and art, and indicated the emotions resulting from those evaluations. They also reported their emotions when making competence comparisons with an unacquainted child. The major findings were as follows : (a) Young children's self-evaluations changed according to social comparison. (b) Self-evaluations for competence in certain activities were related to the degree of preference for those activities. The evaluation of competence of self and a friend varied with the domain of the activity. (c) When young children evaluated their competence as lower than that of their friends, they reported having positive emotions, rather than negative ones.