The way that children assess their abilities has important implications for children's academic success and motivation. Every day, children receive many types of feedback that can influence their self-perceptions, but not all of these sources influence children in the same way. Children's peers are a salient source of feedback, particularly in middle childhood and adolescence. Children's engagement in social comparison with peers elicits changes in self-perceptions and  emotional states. Yet, we know little about whether the type of peer (e.g., high vs. low performing) that children compare themselves to matters. Other emotional experiences and emotional understanding skills also have a variety of implications for children's judgments of other people, as well children's ability to complete demanding tasks. Therefore, research on emotional processes, including social comparison, is necessary to understand the emotional contexts in which children develop. Such research can also assist in the development of educational curriculum that improves children's social emotional skills.

Peer characteristics in social comparison

With age, peers become a salient source of feedback via social comparison, which influences self-evaluations. However, not all comparisons are created equal. Candace's research examines the characteristics of peers that influence children's interpretation of social comparison information and in turn, self-perceptions. Characteristics of interest include expertise, traits (Lapan & Boseovski, 2017), and representativeness.  Further, her research interests include understanding individual differences in children's propensity to engage in social comparison. Understanding the process of social comparison in childhood has important implications for academic and parenting practices of providing developmentally appropriate comparison information.