ADHD in Children
Visual Abstract
Positive illusory bias and the self-protective hypothesis in children with learning disabilities
Learning Disabilities and Self-Worth
Nancy Lee Heath , Tamara Glen
Summarized by:
August 17, 2023
study source
J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol
Jun 2005
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What they studied
How do children with learning disabilities view themselves and represent themselves to others?
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What they found
Children with learning disabilities tend to overestimate their spelling abilities when asked. However, after being praised, they were more accurate in their self-assessments.
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What this means
Like children with ADHD, children with learning disabilities may compensate for feelings of low self-worth by inflating their self-assessments.
Positive illusory bias and the self-protective hypothesis in children with learning disabilities
Objectives
This study aimed to examine the relationship between learning disabilities and self-worth. Studies have shown that children with ADHD tend to report over-inflated self-opinions, potentially as a way to compensate for their perceived shortcomings:
This study wanted to see whether children with learning disabilities overestimate their abilities when surveyed and whether positive feedback affects this.
Study Quote
We tested the hypothesis that overestimations of performance by children with learning disabilities (LD) are self-protective and will dissipate following positive feedback.
Methods
Researchers compared children with and without learning disabilities in the study. They asked children to predict their performance on a spelling test before the test and analyzed their predictions' accuracy.
They then re-tested the children after giving them either positive feedback or no feedback.
Study Quote
Twenty-three boys and 17 girls with LD (ages 10.6 to 13.5 years) and a control group of non-LD matched children (22 boys and 17 girls) provided a prediction of their performance on a spelling test prior to completing the test. Subsequently, they were randomly assigned to either a positiv...
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Results
The results showed that children with learning disabilities tended to overestimate their spelling abilities.
When the children were given positive feedback and praise, their estimates became more accurate.
This effect was only seem among children with learning disabilities.
Study Quote
In children with LD, there was a positive bias in their predictions of performance, and, following positive feedback, their predictions became accurate. In children without LD, there was no positive bias and no effect of feedback.
Conclusions
This result suggests that children with learning disabilities may compensate for their perceived shortcomings by inflating their reported abilities when asked by others. In a way, they are compensating for feelings of low self-worth by reporting high self-worth.
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Children with LD who have a history of academic failure may have this helpless style of response and may be providing overestimates of their performance in an attempt to present a positive front.
This effect can be seen in boys and girls with learning disabilities, though it's more apparent in girls.
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Thus, this study provides one of the first indica- tions that although positive illusory bias may be more pronounced for boys, it can also be detected in girls.
When the participants with learning disabilities were praised and given positive feedback, they tended to provide more accurate estimates of their abilities. It's possible that they may feel more comfortable with themselves after receiving positive feedback.
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These results demonstrate that, following positive feedback, children with LD lower predictions of their performance from unrealistically positive levels to more accurate levels, whereas their peers with LD who received no feedback maintained overestimates of their performance.
These results provide fascinating insights into how children with learning disabilities view themselves and represent themselves to others.
Studies on children and ADHD have found similar results:
One study found that children with ADHD also over-inflate their abilities on evaluations. Just like the children with learning disabilities in this study, their self-assessments became more accurate when they were given positive feedback:
Study Quote
The results provide further support for the presence of a positive illusory bias and for the self-protective hypothesis in children with LD.