Use of the self-concept in forming preferences by French students of different levels of academic achievement

According to the results of recent research in France (D. Martinot & J. M. Monteil, 1995), only high-achieving students possessed well-structured academic self-concepts, which, in academic settings, should facilitate the use of a prototype-matching strategy (i.e., a decision-making strategy in which the self-concept guides one's choices). In 2 studies, the authors examined the tendency among French students of different academic levels to use the prototype-matching strategy. In Study 1, the participants of high and average academic achievement, but not those of lower academic achievement, used prototype matching in forming preferences. In Study 2, all participants in the condition (experimental) that facilitated the accessibility of academic self-concepts used prototype matching; the participants in the control condition did not.