Preschoolers' perceptions of performance and satisfaction under competitive and non-competitive conditions

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore preschool children's perceptions of their performance under competitive and non-competitive conditions (NCC) and their satisfaction. Eighty preschool children (40 boys, 40 girls) aged 4–6 years (M age = 5.48, SD = .57) took part in this study. Preschool children built a tower under competitive and NCC and expressed their perception of their performance and their satisfaction using a ladder scale and a faces scale, respectively. The results showed that the majority of preschool children evaluate their performance as ‘high' under both conditions independently of the outcome. Under competitive condition (CC), 52.5% of children evaluated their performance accurately, while under NCC this percentage was 47.5%. Furthermore, the majority of children responded that they felt happy under both conditions.