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Published Online:https://doi.org/10.1024/0044-3514.38.2.73

Zusammenfassung: Der big-fish-little-pond effect beschreibt das Phänomen, dass vergleichbar leistungsstarke Schülerinnen und Schüler in leistungsstärkeren Lerngruppen infolge sozialer Vergleiche niedrigere Fähigkeitsselbstkonzepte ausbilden als in Gruppen mit einem niedrigeren mittleren Leistungsniveau. In der vorliegenden Studie wird geprüft, ob dieser Effekt auch im Hinblick auf das sportbezogene Selbstkonzept zu finden ist. In einer längsschnittlich angelegten Studie wurde eine repräsentative Stichprobe von 1185 Schülerinnen und Schülern in der Grundschule (3. Klasse) und der Sekundarstufe I (6. Klasse) mit einem motorischen Test und per Fragebögen untersucht. In Mehrebenenanalysen konnte ein negativer Effekt der durchschnittlichen Sportleistung einer Klasse auf das sportbezogene Selbstkonzept der Schüler nachgewiesen werden, der auch noch nach dem Übergang in die Sekundarstufe I andauerte. Die Konfrontation mit sportlichen Mitschülern hat demnach persistente negative Effekte auf das sportbezogene Selbstkonzept.


Frame of Reference Effects in Physical Education: The Short- and Long-term Negative Effects of Athletic Classmates on Physical Self-Concept

Abstract: The big-fish-little-pond effect describes the finding that students in high-achieving groups develop lower self-concepts than equally able students in low-achieving environments. The present, longitudinal study was designed to test whether this effect is also observed for the self-concept of physical ability. A test of physical fitness and questionnaire measures were administered to a representative sample of 1185 students from elementary (3rd grade) and lower secondary (6th grade) classrooms. Multilevel analyses revealed a negative effect of class-average physical ability on individual self-concepts that persisted even after students' transition to lower secondary level I. This indicates that social comparisons with athletic classmates have lasting negative effects on the self-concept of physical ability.

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