AUTHOR=Bosch Jannis , Wilbert Jürgen TITLE=The impact of social comparison processes on self-evaluation of performance, self-concept, and task interest JOURNAL=Frontiers in Education VOLUME=8 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2023.1033488 DOI=10.3389/feduc.2023.1033488 ISSN=2504-284X ABSTRACT=

Development of self-concept and task interest has been shown to be affected by social comparison processes in a variety of cross-sectional studies. A potential explanation for these effects is an effect of social comparative performance feedback on an individual’s self-evaluation of performance, which in turn influences development of self-concept and task interest. There are, however, only few studies addressing this topic with experimental designs. This study was aimed at closing this research gap by experimentally manipulating social comparative performance. Feedback given was based on 2 × 2 experimental conditions: social position (high vs. low) and average performance of the reference group (high vs. low). Results show a strong effect of social position on self-evaluation of performance and smaller effects on self-concept and task interest.