Self-Evaluative Responses of Children in an Achievement Setting

RUBLE, DIANE N.; PARSONS, JACQUELYNNE E.; and Ross, JENISE. Self-evaluative Responses of Children in an Achievement Setting. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1976, 47, 990-997. In 2 studies, age differences in children's self-evaluative responses as a function of success/failure outcome and task ease information are explored. The approach to the research is based on the Weiner et al. attributional model of achievement. The model predicts that more extreme positive or negative affect results from internal, as opposed to external, attributions for success or failure. In both studies, each child worked on a task and was subsequently given information indicating that his or her performance outcome was due to either internal or external reasons. Self-evaluative ratings were then measured and were expected to vary as a function of the information condition. The results of both studies showed that task outcome was a strong predictor of evaluations, especially for older children. However, the effects of task ease information were neither strong nor consistent, though this information did appear to influence the ratings of the older children. Possible reasons for these developmental changes and their implications are discussed.