Comparing the apple of my eye: Parental reactions to academic social comparisons of their elementary school‐aged children

Abstract

AbstractThe current study examines parents’ reactions to making social comparisons of their children on school‐related domains. Parents (N = 117; ages 25 to 49; 94% women) of elementary school‐age children (ages 5 to 10; 57.3% girls) were recruited online from Facebook parenting groups and several school districts in Atlantic Canada. Participants were randomly assigned to make either an upward, a downward, or a lateral social comparison about their child’s ability in school. Participants reported the time since the event in comparison, their emotional reactions, their evaluations of their child’s ability in the domain, and how important they perceived the domain to be for their child’s future. Domain importance and evaluations of the child’s abilities also were measured prior to making the comparison. Significant differences based on social comparison condition were found for temporal distance, post‐comparison domain importance, and post‐comparison assessments of the child’s ability in the domain. The effect of social comparison on post‐comparison domain importance was not mediated by post‐comparison assessments of the child’s ability, suggesting a direct effect of comparisons on perceived domain importance. These findings suggest that the act of social comparison caused parents to reevaluate the importance of the domain of comparison and their child’s abilities in that domain. Implications for parents and educators are discussed.