The net effect of dimensional comparisons is contested: early evidence suggested a positive net effect, but later experiments found downward and upward effects cancel out¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2024 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Pohlmann and Möller (2009) found positive self-concept effects for downward dimensional comparisons larger than negative effects for upward comparisons, leading DCT to claim a positive net effect. → Jens Möller 2024 q2 i? Müller-Kalthoff et al. (2017a, 2017b) found positive downward and negative upward effects cancelled out, so net effects were negligible, meaning a reformulated DCT could no longer claim a positive net effect. → Jens Möller 2024 (2)

Evidence¶

Jens Möller 2024¶

Jens Möller. (2024). Ten Years of Dimensional Comparison Theory: On the Development of a Theory from Educational Psychology. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09918-6

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports an experimental study by Pohlmann and Möller (2009) testing whether downward dimensional comparison effects exceed upward ones, demonstrating some overall benefit; Möller and Marsh (2013) accordingly stated the net effect of dimensional comparisons is positive.

"they found positive self-concept effects for downward dimensional comparisons that were larger than negative effects for upward dimensional comparisons in both self-perceived competence and satisfaction with test outcomes."

Jens Möller 2024 (2)¶

Jens Möller. (2024). Ten Years of Dimensional Comparison Theory: On the Development of a Theory from Educational Psychology. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09918-6

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports three experiments and two field studies by Müller-Kalthoff et al. (2017a, 2017b) in which "positive effects of downward and negative effects of upward dimensional comparisons cancelled each other out", contradicting the positive-net-effect claim.

"revealing that positive effects of downward and negative effects of upward dimensional comparisons cancelled each other out, so that net effects were more or less negligible."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Dimensional comparisons carried out by teachers and classmates show no contrast effects on students' self-concepts, unlike students' own comparisons — 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
• The negative contrast effect of high school-average achievement outweighs a weaker positive assimilation (reflected glory) effect — related
• Contrast and assimilation are competing compositional processes that can operate simultaneously — related