关键词: 大鱼小池效应 学业自我概念 社会比较 同化效应 对比效应

Abstract: Big Fish Little Pond Effect (BFLPE) is a specific phenomenon which is based upon social comparison theory of educational and social psychological researches. The definition of BFLPE given by Marsh (1986) is a kind of effect of that students in high-ability classes and schools have lower academic self-concepts than their equally able counterparts in lower-ability classes and schools. BFLPE refers to assimilation effect and contrast effect caused by students’ different reference of social comparison—generalized others (class or school average ability) and specific others (target comparison classmate). Some previous studies abroad demonstrate that either upward social comparison or downward social comparison can arouse assimilation effect, contrast effect and both of them. It is the standard of comparison rather than the direction of comparisons influence negative academic self-conception. In BFLPE research, students are presumed to use a generalized other as an implicit comparison target. This generalized other is enforced as the mean performance level of other students in the same class or school. But in social comparison research, participants focus on a special comparison target whom the participant of their own choice. Therefore, imposed vs. self-engendered social comparison activates different sources of social comparison information. As we all know, choosing a good student as a goal is inspiring and can improve academic performance later, but have no effect on one’s academic self-conception. However, it is a quite different story for using the perceived relative standing in class as comparison target in BFLPE research. Selective Accessibility Model is chose to clarify the role of social comparison in the Big-Fish–Little-Pond. This means teachers should guide students to compare the similarity to comparison targets no matter how excellent they are and make students compare different stages of themselves’ performance as much as possible. Although lots of studies have been done on BFLPE, limitation of present studies still exists. For instance, whether social comparison leads to contrast or assimilation effects depends on the extent of self involvement. Activate the social self (“we”) is more likely to cause assimilation effects, and activate the personal self (“I”) is more likely to cause contrast effects. Likewise, the independent self construal leads to lower self-evaluation under upward comparison, but interdependent self construal reduces the contrast effect, and no difference in self evaluative consequences between upward and downward comparison. In the end, the future research of BFLPE should focus on education enlightenment, perfection of method, controlling of potential moderations (contextual, developmental, and individual differences) and using of cross-cultural study.

Key words: Big Fish Little Pond Effect(BFLPE), academic self-concept, social comparison, assimilation effect, contrast effect