Academic Rank, Task Feedback and Self-Reinforcement in Children

This experiment explored the non-intellectual correlates of academic achievement from the perspective of research on self-regulation. Part I studied the relationship of class standing (in third and fourth grade boys) and self-reinforcement patterns. Ss evaluated their guesses on a perceptual task as Very Good or Bad. Boys of high class-standing were significantly more self-critical than boys of low class-standing. Part II explored the effects of positive, negative and no feedback on the same Ss. High Ss decreased more rapidly in self-criticism from Part I than Low Ss. Different feedbacks had no different effects on SR rates, but Low Ss tended to show more absolute change after feedback.