Sabato Hagit, Steinberger Tamar Cohen
Division of Clinical Child and Educational Psychology, The Seymour Fox School of Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Isreal.
The Seymour Fox School of Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Dev Sci. 2025 May;28(3):e70017. doi: 10.1111/desc.70017.
In two studies, we examined the decisions of children (aged 6-12 years old) when faced with the choice between two options in a social-comparison dilemma: to affiliate with a group in which they outperform all others (i.e., being the best), or with an advanced group, at the cost of losing their primacy (i.e., being with the best). Study 1 (N = 179, MAge = 8.90, 56.4% female) examined children's choice when presented with a two-option scenario; Study 2 (N = 211, MAge = 9.42, 50.7% female) examined the same decision following children's experience of an actual task, while manipulating the children's relative position before the decision (by priming them to imagine that they were the best at the task, compared with a control condition, without manipulation). Results revealed a consistent developmental pattern, such that with age children preferred to join a group of leading performers, even if it meant they would not be the best. We examine the children's reasons for their decision, and their implicit theories of ability as possible mechanisms behind this pattern.
在两项研究中，我们考察了6至12岁儿童在社会比较困境中面临两种选择时所做的决定：是加入一个他们比其他人都表现出色（即成为最优秀的）的群体，还是加入一个高水平群体，但要以失去自己的领先地位（即与最优秀的人在一起）为代价。研究1（N = 179，平均年龄 = 8.90岁，56.4%为女性）考察了儿童在面对两选项情景时的选择；研究2（N = 211，平均年龄 = 9.42岁，50.7%为女性）在儿童完成一项实际任务后，考察了同样的决定，同时在做出决定前操纵儿童的相对位置（通过引导他们想象自己在任务中是最优秀的，与未进行操纵的对照条件相比）。结果显示出一种一致的发展模式，即随着年龄增长，儿童更倾向于加入一群表现领先的人组成的群体，即使这意味着他们不会是最优秀的。我们考察了儿童做出决定的原因，以及他们关于能力的内隐理论，将其作为这种模式背后可能的机制。
