| Title: |
I Feel Competent, Therefore I Am: Self-Concept and Skill Interact at Different Speeds |
| Authors: |
Núñez-Regueiro, Fernando; Marsh, Herbert, W.; Pansu, Pascal; Batruch, Anatolia; Bouet, Marinette; Bressan, Marco; Brown, Genavee; Butera, Fabrizio; Cherbonnier, Anthony; Darnon, Céline; Demolliens, Marie; de Place, Anne-Laure; Desrichard, Olivier; Goron, Luc; Hémon, Brivael; Huguet, Pascal; Jamet, Eric; Mazenod, Vincent; Mella-Barraco, Nathalie; Michinov, Estelle; Michinov, Nicolas; Ofosu, Nana; Peter, Laurine; Poletti, Céline; Régner, Isabelle; Riant, Mathilde; Robert, Anaïs; Rudmann, Ocyna; Sanrey, Camille; Stanczak, Arnaud; Toumani, Farouk; Visintin, Emilio Paolo; Bressoux, Pascal |
| Contributors: |
Laboratoire de Recherche sur les Apprentissages en Contexte (LaRAC); Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA); Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale et Cognitive (LAPSCO); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA); Laboratoire Parisien de Psychologie Sociale (LAPPS); Université Paris 8 (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN); Université Paris 8 (UP8); Université Paris 8 - UFR de psychologie; Etudes sur les NOrmes Sociales et l'Identité Sociale (ENOSIS); Université Paris 8 (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN)-Université Paris 8 (UP8)-Université Paris Nanterre (UPN); Cognition, langues, langage, ergonomie (CLLE); École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE); Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J); Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Université Bordeaux Montaigne (UBM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Toulouse Mind & Brain Institut (TMBI); Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J); Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Université de Toulouse (EPE UT); Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J); Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse)-Université de Toulouse (EPE UT); Communauté d'universités et établissements de Toulouse (Comue de Toulouse); Laboratoire de Psychologie : Cognition, Comportement, Communication (LP3C - EA1285); Université de Bretagne Sud (UBS)-Université de Brest (UBO EPE)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Institut Brestois des Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société (IBSHS); Université de Brest (UBO EPE); Laboratoire d'Informatique, de Modélisation et d'Optimisation des Systèmes (LIMOS); Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de St Etienne (ENSM ST-ETIENNE)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA)-Institut national polytechnique Clermont Auvergne (INP Clermont Auvergne); Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA)-Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA) |
| Source: |
https://hal.science/hal-05240850 ; 2026. |
| Publisher Information: |
CCSD |
| Publication Year: |
2026 |
| Collection: |
Université Toulouse 2 - Jean Jaurès: HAL |
| Subject Terms: |
academic self-concept; learning behavior; reciprocal effects model; timescales; structural equation modeling; [SHS.PSY]Humanities and Social Sciences/Psychology; [SCCO.PSYC]Cognitive science/Psychology; [SHS.STAT]Humanities and Social Sciences/Methods and statistics; [STAT.ME]Statistics [stat]/Methodology [stat.ME] |
| Description: |
Do perceptions about one’s competence shape learning, or are they simply reflections of actual skills? This study revisits this longstanding question by replicating and extending preliminary findings by Marsh et al. (2024) on the temporal dynamics linking students’ academic self-concept (i.e., their perceived academic competence) and their academic skills in mathematics and French (language arts). Using longitudinal data from a large-scale field study (N > 9000 students, 3 measurement points), we tested how academic self-concept and skills relate to each other over time. Consistent with Marsh et al., results revealed a consistent temporal asymmetry: Academic skills predicted concurrent changes in self-concept within the same semester (contemporaneous effects), whereas self-concept predicted changes in academic skills across semesters (lagged effects). These findings were robust to several stress tests, including measurement error, unmeasured confounding, and competing models of change. Together, the results are consistent with a renewed theory of learning behavior, in which perceived competence and skills influence each other at different speeds. This temporal asymmetry helps integrate short-term and long-term cognitive-motivational processes in theories of learning behavior. It also underscores the importance of aligning intervention strategies and model specifications with the timescales of the underlying psychological processes, with implications for both fundamental and intervention research. |
| Document Type: |
report |
| Language: |
English |
| Availability: |
https://hal.science/hal-05240850; https://hal.science/hal-05240850v2/document; https://hal.science/hal-05240850v2/file/Preprint_SelfConceptSkills_Timescales.pdf |
| Rights: |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ; info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.28A49845 |
| Database: |
BASE |