Positive illusions are systematically inflated self-perceptions of competence, and are frequently seen in areas of great difficulty. Although these illusions have been extensively documented in children and adults, the developmental trajectory remains unclear. This study investigated the relationship between positive illusions and depressive symptomatology and school stress in a sample of 78 typically developing adolescents. Adolescents who were achieving slightly below average in math significantly overestimated their performance, but adolescents did not overestimate their performance in spelling. Positive illusions in math, but not in spelling, were negatively related to depressive symptomatology. This relationship was mediated by school stress caused by parental control. Implications for positive illusion theory and development are discussed. / Les illusions positives sont des perceptions de soi et de sa compétence systématiquement gonflées, et sont souvent observées dans les domaines de grande difficulté. Bien que ces illusions aient été abondamment documentées chez les enfants et les adultes, la trajectoire de développement reste peu évidente. Cette étude a enquêté sur la liaison entre les illusions positives et la symptomatologie dépressive et le stress scolaire dans un échantillon de 78 adolescents typiques. Les adolescents qui performaient légèrement en-dessous de la moyenne en mathématique ont surestimé leur performance, mais les adolescents n'ont pas surestimé leur exécution en orthographe. Les illusions positives en mathématique, mais pas en orthographe, étaient associées négativement à la symptomatologie dépressive. Le stress scolaire provoqué par le contrôle parental avait un effet médiateur sur cette relation. Les implications pour la théorie d'illusion positive et le développement sont discutées.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.94968 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Noble, Rick Nelson |
| Contributors | Nancy Lee Heath (Internal/Supervisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | French |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | Electronically-submitted theses. |
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