Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Sources of Self-Esteem III: Social Comparison01:27

Sources of Self-Esteem III: Social Comparison

Social comparison plays a fundamental role in the evaluation of personal success and self-worth. Rather than assessing our achievements in isolation, we interpret their significance relative to personal goals and critically in comparison to the performance of others. A grade of B in a mathematics exam might elicit pride if one's expectation was a C, yet result in disappointment if an A was anticipated or if peers achieved superior results. These comparative evaluations illustrate how both...
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification03:00

Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification

Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
Self-Concept01:19

Self-Concept

Self-concept is the cognitive and emotional understanding individuals hold about their identity. It evolves through various developmental stages, beginning in infancy and maturing as children grow. This concept influences how individuals perceive their abilities, interact with others, and manage challenges throughout life.
Infancy and Emerging Recognition
During infancy, self-concept is virtually nonexistent. Babies do not distinguish themselves as separate entities and often mistake their...
Self-Esteem01:28

Self-Esteem

Self-esteem, a core aspect of psychological well-being, reflects an individual's positive and negative self-evaluation in terms of worth, competence, and overall value. It is both a stable trait and a dynamic process, influenced by experiences and social interactions across the lifespan. While global self-esteem offers a general assessment, research highlights that self-esteem is multidimensional and varies across specific life domains.Domain-Specific Self-EsteemResearchers have delineated...
Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects01:29

Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects

Self-discrepancy theory explains how people compare their actual self to their ideal and ought selves and how mismatches between these self-guides can lead to emotional distress. Developed by E. Tory Higgins, the theory distinguishes among three components of self-concept: the actual self, the ideal self, and the ought self. These refer respectively to how individuals perceive themselves, how they aspire to be, and how they believe they are obligated to be. Emotional well-being, self-esteem,...
Theory of Attribution II: Kelley's Covariation Theory01:29

Theory of Attribution II: Kelley's Covariation Theory

Attribution theory plays a crucial role in social psychology, helping to explain how individuals interpret the causes of behavior. One prominent model within this field is Harold Kelley's covariation theory, which provides a systematic approach to determining whether internal traits or external circumstances drive a person's actions. The model posits that individuals rely on three key types of information—consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness—to make these judgments.Consensus: Comparing...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The formation of self-concept and intrinsic value in arts-related domains: Extending the generalized internal/external frame of reference model to music and visual arts.

The British journal of educational psychology·2025
Same author

Neural Networks or Linguistic Features? - Comparing Different Machine-Learning Approaches for Automated Assessment of Text Quality Traits Among L1- and L2-Learners' Argumentative Essays.

International journal of artificial intelligence in education·2025
Same author

Proteome Analysis of Corynebacterium diphtheriae-Macrophage Interaction.

Proteomics·2025
Same author

Holographic measurement of gain and linewidth enhancement factor in semiconductor waveguides.

Optics express·2025
Same author

Who am I? A second-order meta-analytic review of correlates of the self in childhood and adolescence.

Psychological bulletin·2024
Same author

Identification of Acyl-Protein Thioesterase-1 as a Polysorbate-Degrading Host Cell Protein in a Monoclonal Antibody Formulation Using Activity-Based Protein Profiling.

Journal of pharmaceutical sciences·2024

Related Experiment Videos

Achievement differences and self-concept differences: stronger associations for above or below average students?

Jens Möller1, Britta Pohlmann

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Kiel, Germany. jmoeller@psychologie.uni-kiel.de

The British Journal of Educational Psychology
|January 30, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Above average students develop more distinct self-concepts than below average students, even with identical achievement gaps. This difference is driven by self-enhancement and self-protection processes in academic self-concept formation.

Related Experiment Videos

Area of Science:

  • Educational Psychology
  • Social Psychology

Background:

  • Student academic achievement is closely linked to their domain-specific self-concepts.
  • Self-evaluation processes are influenced by self-enhancing information processing.
  • Discrepancies in self-concept emerge: above-average students report higher self-concepts, while below-average students report lower ones compared to average students.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether students with identical achievement differences to an average student exhibit similar differences in self-concept.
  • To test the hypothesis that above-average achieving students develop more distinct self-concepts compared to average students than below-average achieving students do.

Main Methods:

  • Three studies were conducted: two field studies and one experimental study.
  • Study 1 involved 382 academic track students (7th-10th grade).
  • Study 2 included 1,349 primary school students, and Study 3 involved 81 German teacher education students.

Main Results:

  • Achievement differences between above-average and average students were equivalent to those between average and below-average students across all studies.
  • However, the self-concept differences between above-average and average students were significantly greater than those between average and below-average students.

Conclusions:

  • Self-enhancement and self-protection mechanisms influence self-concept development.
  • Above-average students' self-concepts are more distinct from those of average students than below-average students' self-concepts.