Naslov
Implicit and explicit self-esteem diverge from each other during childhood: Implications for social-cognitive development

Autori
Cvencek, Dario ; Brečić, Ružica ; Gaćeša, Dora ; Skala, David ; Meltzoff, Andrew N.

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
Cognitive Development Society - Abstract Book / - Madison (WI), 2022, 121-123

Skup
12th Biennial Cognitive Development Society Conference

Mjesto i datum
Madison (WI), Sjedinjene Američke Države, 21.04.2022. - 23.04.2022

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
Implicit and explicit self-esteem ; childhood ; social-cognitive development

Sažetak
Self-esteem remains one of psychology's central constructs. Based on dual-processing models, there is robust evidence from research with adults that explicit and implicit self-esteem are distinct constructs with different correlates and consequences. However, this conceptual and empirical distinction has been understudied in children, due to limited availability of measurement tools until very recently. To obtain a more complete understanding of self- esteem and its implications for social-cognitive developmental theory, we tested both explicit and implicit self-esteem in the same children. These assessments were done at two different ages, which allowed us to evaluate age-related differences, differences between girls and boys, and the relations of both types of self-esteem to math and language achievement. Our assessments were conducted at two key time points: (a) in early childhood (Mage = 7.5 years), and (b) in middle childhood as children transition to early adolescence (Mage = 11.5 years). A sample of 375 children in Grades 1 and 5 (190 girls) completed one explicit and one implicit measure of self- esteem. The explicit measure was the Global Scale of the Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1982). For the implicit measures, the Child Implicit Association Test (ChIAT) was used, which is an adaptation of the adult IAT using nonverbal methods. The underlying principle of the ChIAT is that children find certain associations to be more natural, and they respond to them faster. For example, if children have high self- esteem, they will respond more quickly to me = good than to other control pairings. Importantly, we also measured the same students' math and verbal achievement, using math and language grades. Three new findings emerged (see Fig. 1). First, self-esteem was lower in older than in younger children on explicit (t = 5.54, p < .001), but not on implicit measures (p = .16). Second, gender differences favoring boys at the older age were demonstrated on explicit (t = 2.59, p = .01), but not on implicit measures (p = .42). Third, explicit self-esteem was positively related to higher math and language achievement for both genders (rs > .15, ps < .05), but implicit self- esteem accounted for additional unique variance in predicting girls' language achievement only (β = .19, p = .009). Collectively, results show that explicit and implicit self-esteem diverged from each other in multiple ways. The contrast between the implicit (no age difference for girls ; stronger self-esteem in older boys than in younger boys) and explicit results (lower self- esteem in older children of both genders than in younger children) documents that implicit self- esteem is comparable between early childhood and early adolescence, whereas explicit self-esteem is lower in early adolescence than in early childhood. Explicit and implicit self-esteem are conceptually and empirically differentiable in childhood and we will discuss divergent downstream consequences for later stereotype development, identity formation, in-group affiliations, and academic learning.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Ekonomija, Psihologija

POVEZANOST RADA