Definition
Self-understanding or self-perception is the ability to understand and reflect upon one’s competency to perform in the world (Harter 2012). It has been established that young children overestimate their competencies (Bjorklund and Green 1992) and that this overestimation can lead to a sense of self-efficacy (Bandura 1991). As children age, they become more aware of their abilities due to an increase in acquiring cognitive abilities and social experiences that are necessary for an accurate view of the self (Harter 2012).
Research has demonstrated that children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) overestimate their competencies above and beyond what is normative in the general population. Individuals with ASD tend to have inaccurate views of their abilities when asked about their symptomatology (e.g., Johnson et al. 2009); social functioning (e.g., Nicpon et al. 2010); and academic competencies (Furlano and Kelley 2019; Furlano et al. 2015). It is possible...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References and Reading
Alicke, M. D., & Govorun, O. (2005). The better-than-average effect. In M. D. Alicke, D. A. Dunning, & J. I. Krueger (Eds.), The self in social judgment (pp. 85–106). New York: Psychology Press.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Bandura, A. (1991). Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 248–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90022-L.
Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Hill, J., Raste, Y., & Plumb, I. (2001). The ‘reading the mind in the eyes’ test revised version: A study with normal adults, and adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42, 241–252. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00715.
Baumeister, R. F. (1987). How the self became a problem: A psychological review of historical research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(1), 163. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.52.1.163.
Bennetto, L., Pennington, B. F., & Rogers, S. J. (1996). Intact and impaired memory functions in autism. Child Development, 67(4), 1816–1835. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1996.tb01830.x.
Bjorklund, D. F., & Green, B. L. (1992). The adaptive nature of cognitive immaturity. American Psychologist, 47, 46–54. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.47.1.46.
Butler, J. (2005). Giving an account of oneself. New York: Fordham University Press.
Charman, T., & Baron-Cohen, S. (1997). Brief report: Prompted pretend play in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 27, 325–332. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025806616149.
Evangelista, N. M., Owens, J. S., Golden, C. M., & Pelham, W. E. (2008). The positive illusory bias: Do inflated self-perceptions in children with ADHD generalize to perceptions of others? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 779–791. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9210-8.
Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive–developmental inquiry. American Psychologist, 34(10), 906. Retrieved from https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/1980-09388-001.pdf
Frith, U., & Happé, F. (1999). Theory of mind and self-consciousness: What is it like to be autistic? Mind & Language, 14, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0017.00100.
Furlano, R., & Kelley, E. A. (2019). Do children with autism spectrum disorder understand their academic competencies? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-03988-0.
Furlano, R., Kelley, E., Hall, L., & Wilson, D. (2015). Self-perception of competencies in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Autism Research, 8, 761–770. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1491.
Grainger, C., Williams, D. M., & Lind, S. E. (2014). Metacognition, metamemory, and mindreading in high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 123(3), 650. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036531.
Harter, S. (2012). The construction of the self: A developmental perspective. New York: Guilford Press.
Hoza, B., Waschbusch, D. A., Pelham, W. E., Molina, B. S. G., & Milich, R. (2000). Attention deficit/hyperactivity disordered and control boys’ responses to social success and failure. Child Development, 71, 432–446. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00155.
Ingersoll, B., Schreibman, L., & Tran, Q. H. (2003). Effect of sensory feedback on immediate object imitation in children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33(6), 673–683. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JADD.0000006003.26667.f8.
James, W. (1890). The consciousness of self. In James, W., Burkhardt, F., Bowers, F., & Skrupskelis, I. K. (Eds.) The principles of psychology (Vol. 1, No. 2). London: Macmillan.
Johnson, S. A., Filliter, J. H., & Murphy, R. R. (2009). Discrepancies between self- and parent-perceptions of autistic traits and empathy in high functioning children and adolescents on the autism spectrum. Journal of Developmental Disorders, 39, 1706–1714. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0809-1.
Lee, A., Hobson, R. P., & Chiat, S. (1994). I, you, me, and autism: An experimental study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 155–176. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02172094.
Lewis, M., & Ramsay, D. (2004). Development of self-recognition, personal pronoun use, and pretend play during the 2nd year. Child Development, 75(6), 1821–1831. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00819.x.
Lewis, M., Stoicescu, L., Matthews, T., & Seshadri, K. (2016). Self-recognition and self-referential behavior. In F. Volkmar (Ed.), Encyclopedia of autism spectrum disorders. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8.
Lyons, K. E., & Zelazo, P. D. (2011). Monitoring, metacognition, and executive function: Elucidating the role of self-reflection in the development of self regulation. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 40, 379–412. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-386491-8.00010-4.
Mayes, S. D., & Calhoun, S. L. (2008). WISC-IV and WIAT-II profiles in children with high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(3), 428–439. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0410-4.
Mazefsky, C. A., Oswald, D. P., Day, T. N., Eack, S. M., Minshew, N. J., & Lainhart, J. E. (2012). ASD, a psychiatric disorder, or both? Psychiatric diagnoses in adolescents with high-functioning ASD. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 41(4), 516–523. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2012.686102.
McQuade, J. D., Tomb, M., Hoza, B., Waschbusch, D. A., Hurt, E. A., & Vaughn, A. J. (2011). Cognitive deficits and positively biased self-perceptions in children with ADHD. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39, 307–319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-010-9453-7l.
Nicpon, M. F., Doobay, A. F., & Assouline, S. G. (2010). Parent, teacher, and self perceptions of psychosocial functioning in intellectually gifted children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40, 1028–1038. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-0952-8.
Owens, J. S., Goldfine, M. E., Evangelista, N. M., Hoza, B., & Kaiser, N. M. (2007). A critical review of self-perceptions and the positive illusory bias in children with ADHD. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 10, 335–351. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-007-0027-3.
Ozonoff, S., Pennington, B. F., & Rogers, S. J. (1991). Executive function deficits in high-functioning autistic children: Relationship to theory of mind. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 32, 1081–1105. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1991.tb00351.x.
Pajares, F., & Schunk, D. H. (2001). Self-beliefs and school success: Self-efficacy, self concept, and school achievement. In R. J. Riding & S. G. Rayner (Eds.), International perspectives on individual differences: Perception (pp. 239–266). London, UK: Ablex Publishing.
Pelham, W. E., & Bender, M. E. (1982). Peer relationships in hyperactive children: Description and treatment. Advances in Learning & Behavioral Disabilities, 1, 365–436. Retrieved from https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1983-06085-001
Ruble, D. N., Boggiano, A. K., Feldman, N. S., & Loebl, J. H. (1980). Developmental analysis of the role of social comparison in self-evaluation. Developmental Psychology, 16(2), 105. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.16.2.105.
Ruffman, T. (1999). Children’s understanding of logical inconsistency. Child Development, 70(4), 872–886. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00063.
Russell, J., Jarrold, C., & Henry, L. (1996). Working memory in children with autism and with moderate learning difficulties. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37, 673–686. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1996.tb01459.x.
Sedikides, C., & Spencer, S. (2007). The self: Frontiers in social psychology. New York: Psychology Press.
Selman, R. L. (2003). Promotion of social awareness: Powerful lessons for the partnership of developmental theory. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Storch, E. A., Merlo, L. J., Larson, M. J., Marien, W. E., Geffken, G. R., Jacob, M. L., et al. (2008). Clinical features associated with treatment-resistant pediatric obsessive compulsive disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 49(1), 35–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2007.06.009.
Taylor, S. E., & Brown, J. D. (1988). Illusions and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 193–210. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.103.2.193.
Tessler, M., & Nelson, K. (1994). Making memories: The influence of joint encoding on later recall by young children. Consciousness and Cognition, 3(3), 307–326. https://doi.org/10.1006/ccog.1994.1018.
Tulving, E. (1972). Episodic and semantic memory. Organization of Memory, 1, 381–403. Retrieved from http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~jorkin/generals/papers/Tulving_memory.pdf
Vickerstaff, S., Heriot, S., Wong, M., Lopes, A., & Dossetor, D. (2007). Intellectual ability, self-perceived social competence, and depressive symptomatology in children with high-functioning autistic spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37(9), 1647–1664. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0292-x.
Wheeler, M. A., Stuss, D. T., & Tulving, E. (1997). Toward a theory of episodic memory: The frontal lobes and autonoetic consciousness. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 331. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.121.3.331.
Whitby, P. J. S., & Mancil, G. R. (2009). Academic achievement profiles of children with high functioning autism and Asperger syndrome: A review of the literature. Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities, 551–560. Retrieved from http://daddcec.org/portals/0/cec/autism_disabilities/research/publications/education_training_development_disabilities/2009v44_journals/etdd_200912v44n4p551-560_academic_achievement_profiles_children_with_high_functioning.pdf
Yerys, B. E., Wallace, G. L., Sokoloff, J. L., Shook, D. A., James, J. D., & Kenworthy, L. (2009). Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms moderate cognition and behavior in children with autism spectrum disorders. Autism Research, 2, 322–333. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.103.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Furlano, R. (2020). Self-Understanding of Academic Competencies in ASD. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102471-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102471-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences