The internal/external frame of reference (I/E) model describes the formation of students’ math and verbal self-concepts by the joint effects of social comparisons (where students compare their subject-specific achievements with those of their classmates) and dimensional comparisons (where students compare their math and verbal achievements with each other). To date, researchers have examined this model in dozens of studies. However, these studies have overestimated the effects of social comparisons because they did not recognize that the social comparison effects in the I/E model also result from dimensional comparisons. This article aims to explain this misunderstanding by developing the difference I/E (dIff/E) model, which represents the joint effects of social and dimensional comparisons more adequately than the classic I/E model. Specific findings of prior I/E model studies are discussed, which require a reinterpretation or only become plausible in light of this research's insights (e.g., where researchers compared the social comparison effects in the I/E model between groups). Moreover, empirical data are analyzed to provide support for the validity of the dIff/E model. As a key conclusion, researchers should understand that the social comparison effects in the I/E model do not only represent effects of social comparisons.

中文翻译：

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衡量比较效应：对内部/外部参考模型框架的批判性观点

内部/外部参考框架 (I/E) 模型描述了通过社会比较（学生将其特定学科的成就与同学的成就进行比较）和维度比较的共同作用，学生数学和语言自我概念的形成（学生相互比较他们的数学和语言成绩）。迄今为止，研究人员已经在数十项研究中检验了该模型。然而，这些研究高估了社会比较的影响，因为他们没有认识到 I/E 模型中的社会比较效应也是由维度比较产生的。本文旨在通过开发差异 I/E (dIf/E) 模型来解释这种误解，该模型比经典 I/E 模型更充分地代表了社会和维度比较的联合效应。讨论了先前 I/E 模型研究的具体发现，这些发现需要重新解释或仅根据本研究的见解才变得合理（例如，研究人员比较组之间 I/E 模型中的社会比较效应）。此外，还分析了经验数据，为 dIf/E 模型的有效性提供支持。作为一个关键结论，研究人员应该明白，I/E 模型中的社会比较效应不仅仅代表社会比较的影响。