THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL-COMPARISON ON MATHEMATICS SELF-CONCEPT

Implicit in the frame of reference hypothesis is the assumption that s ocial comparison is one of the causal determinants of self-concept. Th e present study of Norwegian sixth-grade elementary school students sh owed that students of low-, medium-, and high-achievement classes did not differ in mathematics self-concept. Mathematics self-concept was, however, significantly influenced by the students' within-classroom po sition in mathematics. The results support the frame of reference hypo thesis, and the support was consistent over gender.