Hostname: page-component-6898cfcb55-th4rj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-12T00:21:23.490Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Optimism bias in children’s motor performance expectations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Katherine Coote and
David Livesey
Katherine Coote
Affiliation:
The University of Sydney
David Livesey*
Affiliation:
The University of Sydney
*
Department of Psychology, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Ph: + 61 (02) 9926 8281, Fax: + 61 (02) 9351 2603, E-mail: davidl@psych.usyd.edu.au
Get access

Abstract

Drawing on Plumert’s (1995) findings that children exhibit an optimism bios in their gross motor performance expectations compored with adults, this study tested the hypothesis that younger children are more likely to overestimate their gross motor performance compared with older children. Participants were 6-year-old and 11-year-old children. The accuracy of children’s estimates of their motor performance was assessed using four tasks (horizontal reach, vertical reach, clearance, and stepping), which were adjusted to either well-within, just-within, just-beyond, or well-beyond each child’s individual abilities. Results confirmed that the 6-year-olds significantly overestimated their motor performance compared with 11-year-olds. The discussion focuses upon the ecological validity of these findings, as well as the implications for children’s motor confidence and motor development.

Keywords

Expectationsgross motor developmentmotor performanceoptimism bias

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , November 1999, pp. 52 - 61
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Bjorkland, D., & Green, B.L. (1992). Theadaptive nature of cognitive immaturity. American Psychologist, 47, 46–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Covington, M., & Beery, R. (1976). Self-worth and school learning. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.Google Scholar
Dweck, C.S. (1986). Motivational processes affecting learning. American Psychologist, 41 (10), 1040–1048.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dweck, C.S., & Bempechat, J. (1983). Childrenșs theories of intelligence: Consequences for learning. In Paris, S.Olson, G. & Stevenson, H. (Eds.), Learning and motivation in the classroom (pp.(pp. 239–255). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Eccles, J., Wigfield, A., Harold, R.D., & Blumenfeld, P. (1993). Age and gender differences in children&s self and task perceptions during elementary school. Child Development, 64, 830–847.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lee, A.M., & Austin, M. (1987). Sex referent cues, success estimations, and performance of children on a lateral jumping task. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 147 (3), 371–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, A.M., Carter, J.A., & Xiang, P. (1995). Children’s conceptions of ability in physical education. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 14 (4), 384–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nicholls, J.G. (1978). Development of the concepts of effort and ability, perception of academic attainment, and the understanding that difficult tasks require more ability. Child Development, 49, 800–814.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nicholls, J. (1979). The development of perception of ownattainment and causal attributions for success and failure in reading. Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 94–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parsons, J.E., & Ruble, D.N. (1977). The development of achievement-related expectancies. Child Development, 48, 1075–1079.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, B.N. (1963). Age changes in accuracy of self-perceptions. Child Development, 34, 1041–1046.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Piage, J. (1954). The construction of reality in the child. New York: Free Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plumert, J.M. (1995). Relations between children’soverestimation of their physical abilities and accident proneness. Developmental Psychology, 31 (5), 866–876.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pressley, M., Levin, J.R., Ghatala, E.S., & Ahmad, M. (1987). Test monitoring in young grade school children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 43, 96–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanguinetti, C., Lee, A.M., & Nelson, J. (1985). Reliability estimates and age and gender comparisons of expectations of success in sex-typed activities. Journal of Sport Psychology, 7, 379–388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shaklee, H., & Tucker, D. (1979). Cognitive bases of development in inferences of ability. Child Development, 50, 904–907. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siedentop, D. (1991). Developing teaching skills in physical education. Mountain View, Calif: Mayfield Publishing.Google Scholar
Stipek, D (1981). Children’s perceptions of their own and their classmates’ ability. Journal of Educational Psychology, 73, 404–410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stipek, D.J. (1984). Young children’s performance expectations: Logical analysis or wishful thinking? In Nicholls, J. (Ed.) Advances in motivation and achievement: Vol. 3 (p.3–56). Greenwich: Connecticut: JAI Press Inc.Google Scholar
Stipek, D., & Maclver, D. (1989). Developmental change in children’s assessment of intellectual competence. Child Development, 60, 521–538. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weinberg, R., Fowler, C., Jackson, A., & Bagnali, J. (1991). Effect of goal difficulty on motor performance: A replication across tasks and subjects. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 13, 160–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar