Self-confidence and Motor Performance of Preadolescent Boys and Girls Studied in Different Feedback Situations

Lenney (1977) suggests that three situational factors are likely to affect the self-confidence of females in achievement situations. These factors are the sex orientation of the task, social comparison, and the need for performance feedback. In this study, 40 children, 20 of each sex, were studied to determine if the self-confidence of young females in their motor performance abilities was affected by Lenney's third situational variable, performance feedback. Presumably, females need feedback about their performance if they are to attain and/or maintain adequate self-confidence levels. The experiment was designed to control the first two factors: sex orientation of the task and social comparison. Results indicated that when performing a task perceived to be “neutral” in sex orientation in a noncompetitive, noncomparative environment, the self-confidence of young girls did not differ from young boys. In the absence of Lenney's (1977) first two factors, girls did not seem to lack self-confidence nor did they seem to be more dependent on performance feedback than boys.