Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Taliano, Kimberly Ann
Author's Email Address	kat0436@garnet.acns.fsu.edu
URN	etd-07112005-125234
Title	School-Age Boys' Use of Social Comparison Standards in Judging Running Ability
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	Family and Child Sciences, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Christine Readdick Committee Chair Nicholas Mazza Committee Member Ronald Mullis Committee Member
Keywords	Self-Evaluation Of Ability Classroom Environment Achievement Evaluation Athletic Competence Performance Evaluation Social Comparison Task Performance Ability Evaluation
Date of Defense	2005-04-28
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract The purpose of the present descriptive study was to explore the influence of friendship status and running skill on school-age boys’ social comparison production. Specifically, the frequency, function, and content of social comparison statements produced before, during, and after a running task were examined. Forty pairs of first and second grade boys were filmed as they: rated their own running ability; rated their classmates’ running ability; rated classmates as friends and nonfriends using a sociometric nomination procedure; participated in an interview/timed running task with a partner; and answered a post-race questionnaire. Social comparison statements were identified and coded for content and function from video recordings. Boys primarily liked or loved running, perceived themselves to be “very good” or “excellent” and “very fast” or “fast” runners, and rated friends as being faster runners than nonfriends. Boys made primarily superiority/inferiority statements centered on their running performance and attributes of their performance. No grade differences were found in the frequency, function, and content of children’s social comparison statements. While the frequency of social comparison statements did not vary by friendship status, multiple significant differences in social comparison frequency, content, and function were identified when running ability of the comparer, running ability of the comparee, and friendship status were considered together.
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