The influence of academic self-concept on performance in intelligence and concentration tests

Two laboratory experiments investigated the impact of the academic self-concept and success or failure on achievement. In Study I seventy students of a German university worked on the d2 concentration test. Earlier half of the students received a positive or a negative feedback about their achievement in a memory-test. In Study 2, 55 students of a German university worked on a set of number problems taken from an intelligence test. Half of the students were confronted with either success or failure at the beginning of the problems. In both studies the academic self-concept was measured with a questionnaire before working on the problems. Results of both studies indicated that failure-induction causes performance deficits only in students with low self-concept. Results are discussed with regard to test construction and educational practice.