Dimensional comparisons: achievement–self-concept paths are positive in similar subjects but negative in dissimilar subjects¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 2 studies · 2 associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? A meta-analysis found substantial positive path coefficients between achievement and self-concept in similar subjects but substantial negative path coefficients in dissimilar subjects. → Hübner 2023

q2 i? The review reports, citing Möller et al. (2020), strong positive within-domain effects and small to moderate negative between-domain effects in the classic I/E model. → Fabian Wolff 2026

Evidence¶

Hübner 2023¶

Hübner, N., Wagner, W., Zitzmann, S., & Nagengast, B. (2023). How Strong Is the Evidence for a Causal Reciprocal Effect? Contrasting Traditional and New Methods to Investigate the Reciprocal Effects Model of Self-Concept and Achievement. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09724-6

q2 · i? · associational · r2

The review reports, citing Möller et al. (2020), a meta-analysis on dimensional comparisons that found "coefficients between achievement and self-concept in similar subjects but substan - tial negative path coefficients in dissimilar subjects". No effect sizes are printed for this finding.

"coefficients between achievement and self-concept in similar subjects but substan - tial negative path coefficients in dissimilar subjects."

Fabian Wolff 2026¶

Fabian Wolff, Jennifer Schumacher, Jens Möller. (2026). Revisiting the Role of Social and Dimensional Comparisons in the Internal/External Frame of Reference Model: A Systematic Comparison of the Classic and the Difference I/E Model. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-026-10212-w

q2 · i? · associational · r2

The article reports, citing Möller et al. (2020), a meta-analysis of the classic I/E model including "N = 212,121 participants from k = 118 datasets" that found "strong positive within-domain effects and small to moderate negative between-domain effects."

"Möller et al. ( 2020) reported strong positive within-domain effects and small to moderate negative between-domain effects"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Academic Self-Concept — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Performance-avoidance goals negatively predict both self-concept and self-efficacy across all three grade levels — related
• Domain knowledge predicts science achievement directly and indirectly via self-concept at all three grade levels — related
• Within-subject achievement effects in the classic I/E model confound social and dimensional comparisons; using the math–verbal achievement difference as predictor isolates each comparison type — related
• Dimensional comparison effects extend to subjective task values, with contrast effects strongest for intrinsic value and costs and lowest for utility value, often mediated by self-concept — related
• Dimensional comparisons predict cross-domain academic course and major choice, with negative effects of verbal-domain beliefs on math-related choices — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Subject similarity moderates dimensional comparison effects: far comparisons (e.g., math vs. verbal) yield strong contrast effects, near comparisons yield weaker contrast or assimilation effects — related
• Dimensional comparisons carried out by teachers and classmates show no contrast effects on students' self-concepts, unlike students' own comparisons — related
• Negative between-domain effects in the classic I/E model are found particularly among secondary school students, with less consistent findings for primary school students — related
• Meta-analytic path analyses show math and verbal achievements correlate highly positively while the corresponding self-concepts correlate near zero, with significant negative cross-domain paths — related
• Mathematics self-concept correlates strongly with mathematics achievement (r = .43), while verbal self-concept barely does (r = .12) — related
• Students' math and verbal self-concepts are near-zero correlated even though their math and verbal achievement levels are strongly positively correlated — related
• Achievement shows positive within-domain and negative cross-domain effects on academic self-concept and value, replicating dimensional comparison theory — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Negative frame-of-reference effects are hypothesized to be truncated in pure self-efficacy measures relative to self-concept measures — related
• Generalized math self-efficacy items function like self-concept items because they omit an explicit performance criterion — related