High Ability Students Who are Unpopular With Their Peers

Abstract

Although previous studies have found that high ability students generally enjoy favorable peer status, few studies have investigated those high ability students who are unpopular even with peers of comparable ability. The present study compared unpopular high ability students with average and popular groups on measures of achievement, family social status, and personality adjustment. Results indicate relatively few differences between average and popular students, but unpopular students are distinguished by lower social self-concept and academic self-esteem, as well as by less prestigious paternal occupations. There was no evidence that unpopular students were academically less capable, less mature, or more anxious than their more popular peers.