Social Self-perception in Adolescents: Accuracy and Bias in their Perceptions of Acceptance/Rejection

Abstract

espanolLa autopercepcion social contribuye a la adaptacion social. La precision perceptiva se asocia con la aceptacion entre iguales, mientras que la falta de precision se ha relacionado con relaciones sociales pobres, soledad y problemas internalizantes. El objetivo del estudio fue analizar los sesgos y la precision, tanto generalizada como diadica, que presentan los adolescentes al percibir la aceptacion y el rechazo, asi como examinar su relacion con la edad, el genero y el estatus sociometrico. La muestra consto de 206 adolescentes (50.49% chicas) con edades comprendidas entre 12 y 19 anos (M = 14.39, DT = 1.64), a los que se aplico un cuestionario sociometrico. Los resultados muestran que la precision perceptiva generalizada se asocio con la edad, siendo los adolescentes mayores mas precisos. Ademas, se observaron diferencias segun el genero en la percepcion generalizada de rechazo, siendo las chicas menos precisas. En relacion al estatus sociometrico, los adolescentes populares y rechazados tendian a subestimar en que medida serian aceptados y rechazados, respectivamente. Se concluye que la autopercepcion social de los adolescentes varia segun la edad, el genero y el estatus sociometrico. EnglishSocial self-perception contributes to the development of social adjustment. Perception accuracy is associated with acceptance by peers, whereas inaccurate social perception has been linked to poor peer relationships, loneliness, and internalizing problems. The aim of this study was to analyze bias and both generalized and dyadic accuracy in adolescents’ perceptions of acceptance and rejection, and to examine the association with age, gender, and sociometric status. Participants were 206 adolescents (50.49% girls) aged between 12 and 19 years (M = 14.39, SD = 1.64). A sociometric test was administered. Results show that generalized perception accuracy was influenced by age, with older adolescents being more accurate. Gender differences were observed in generalized perceptions of rejection, with girls being less accurate. Regarding sociometric status, popular and rejected adolescents tended to underestimate the extent to which they were accepted and rejected, respectively. It is concluded that adolescents’ social self-perception vary according to age, gender, and sociometric status.