Children acknowledge more negative self-conceptions when motivated to be truthful

Thomaes, S., Brummelman, E. and Sedikides, C. (2017), Why Most Children Think Well of Themselves. Child Dev. doi:10.1111/cdev.12937

Abstract: This research aimed to examine whether and why children hold favorable self-conceptions (total N = 882 Dutch children, ages 8–12). Surveys (Studies 1–2) showed that children report strongly favorable self-conceptions. For example, when describing themselves on an open-ended measure, children mainly provided positive self-conceptions—about four times more than neutral self-conceptions, and about 11 times more than negative self-conceptions. Experiments (Studies 3–4) demonstrated that children report favorable self-conceptions, in part, to live up to social norms idealizing such self-conceptions, and to avoid seeing or presenting themselves negatively. These findings advance understanding of the developing self-concept and its valence: In middle and late childhood, children's self-conceptions are robustly favorable and influenced by both external (social norms) and internal (self-motives) forces.

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"When encouraged to respond truthfully, children kept their self-protection motive in check, and acknowledged some of their liabilities or uncertainties" & "at least in childhood, such blindness [to their own faults] may be more motivated than real—children acknowledge more negative self-conceptions when motivated to be truthful."