Parents and the Reflected Appraisal Process: A Longitudinal Analysis

The reflected appraisal process was examined with longitudinal data obtained from 4th- through 8th-grade children (N = 338) and their parents. Cross-lagged regression analyses suggest that the actual and perceived (reflected) appraisals of parents affect children's self-appraisals. Evidence does not, however, support the conventional model of the reflected appraisal process. Reflected appraisals are not very accurate, they do not mediate the effect of actual appraisals on self-appraisals, and they are partly due to projection. The author argues that the reflected appraisal process involves the influence of generalized others rather than significant others, and that the differential impact of specific others cannot be established.