ERIC Number: EJ1281174
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2192-001X
EISSN: N/A
Coping with Broken Achievement-Related Expectations in Students from Elementary School: An Experimental Study
Pinquart, Martin; Block, Helena
International Journal of Developmental Science, v14 n1-2 p9-17 2020
The experiment analyzed reactions of 115 first- to fourth-graders after realizing that they performed worse than they expected in a computer game. Based on the VIOLEX model of expectation violation, we assessed immunization against achievement feedback, assimilation (striving to increase performance), and accommodation (willingness for expectation change). Students decreased their expectations for the next round of the game after getting feedback indicating that they performed worse than expected, and younger students decreased their expectation more than older students did. After giving them some time for thinking about their achievement (and for finding potential excuses for the lower-than-expected performance), younger students slightly increased their expectation, while older students showed a further drop in expectation. Analyses of verbal responses showed that immunizing against the discrepant feedback was followed by an increase in expectations, whereas assimilative and accommodative tendencies did not predict persistence and change in expectations. Conclusions are drawn for future research.
Descriptors: Coping, Expectation, Defense Mechanisms, Student Reaction, Elementary School Students, Children, Computer Games, Attention, Performance Factors, Predictor Variables, Attitude Change, Low Achievement, High Achievement, Cognitive Processes, Feedback (Response), Age Differences, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A