Booth Id:
BEHA059
Category:
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Year:
2026
Finalist Names:
Ralph, Sofia (School: Benjamin Banneker Academic High School)
Abstract:
Growing up, I often compared myself to others, which led me to wonder whether it was possible to quantify self-esteem and how academic performance can influence it. Because the pressures following self-worth and academic performance can be viewed as the capability one person can hold, finding a correlation between how someone’s academic performance can influence self-esteem became an effective way of measuring the demand and harms caused by a competitive environment. To begin, I created a survey that could assess various factions of student life within schools—confidence and self-efficacy, perceived academic performance, anxiety and comparison, and motivation and support—using a Likert scale, which would act as the collected data to the later PSAT scores used. After, I tested the data using averages, chi-square, and a t-test to determine which factors were most impactful to self-esteem and the academic performance it corresponds to.
Awards Won: