Effects of positive feedback on the social interactions of boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A test of the self-protective hypothesis

Children with ADHD have been known to overestimate their abilities when asked. They will often rate themselves as much more capable than they are. Experts believe this may be because they are compensating for their perceived shortcomings.

This study wanted to test this theory in a small trial.

Researchers conducted a small trial on 60 boys with ADHD and 60 boys without ADHD.

They paired the boys up and asked them to cooperate on tasks. They then surveyed them on how much they thought their partner liked them and their performance.

As expected, boys with ADHD generally overestimated how much others liked them:

After receiving positive feedback, boys without ADHD were likelier to feel well-liked, as expected.

Boys with ADHD, however, were less likely to report feeling that their partner liked them when asked.

These results provide evidence that boys with ADHD may over-inflate themselves on self-evaluations because they are compensating for feeling inadequate.

When boys with ADHD were offered positive feedback, they felt more secure in themselves and were more able to provide genuine self-evaluations.

These results are consistent with subsequent studies that have found the importance of positive feedback in helping boys with ADHD feel more comfortable with their performance and perform better on tests.