Feedback Seeking in Early Adolescence: Self-Enhancement or Self-Verification?
Lisa H Rosen1, Connor P Principe, Judith H Langlois
1Texas Woman's University, Denton, TX.
The Journal of Early Adolescence
|April 2, 2013
Summary
Early adolescents seek feedback that confirms their self-views, even negative ones. This study on adolescent self-perception reveals a tendency towards self-verification over self-enhancement.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Adolescence is a critical period for identity development.
- Understanding how adolescents seek and process social feedback is crucial for their psychosocial adjustment.
- Self-perception influences social interactions and feedback-seeking behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether early adolescents (ages 11-14) prefer self-enhancing or self-verifying feedback.
- To examine the role of self-perception in shaping feedback-seeking preferences in adolescents.
- To test predictions derived from self-verification theory in an early adolescent sample.
Main Methods:
- A sample of 90 early adolescents (6th, 7th, and 8th graders) completed a self-perception measure.
- Participants chose between receiving positive (self-enhancing) or negative (self-verifying) feedback from a peer across different self-domains.
- Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to analyze the relationship between self-perceptions and feedback-seeking behavior.
Main Results:
- Adolescents were more likely to seek negative feedback for self-perceived weaknesses than for self-perceived strengths, supporting self-verification theory.
- The study found consistent evidence for self-verification processes across the entire sample.
- Self-perceived ability, certainty, and importance significantly predicted feedback-seeking patterns, indicating adolescent self-verification strivings.
Conclusions:
- Early adolescents actively seek feedback that aligns with their existing self-views, even if that feedback is negative.
- Self-verification processes are evident in early adolescence, influencing how individuals manage their social feedback.
- These findings highlight the importance of self-verification in adolescent social and identity development.
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