social process from the point of view of the child is an important point to remember" (Roberts 180). Children as young as five years of age recognize that they must operate in an environment of social comparison. Children tend to use more relative standards of comparison (e.g., Tommy is not as good as Eric), while adults favor more absolute standards (e.g., batting averages and team records).
According to Roberts (1992) children, like adults, engage in evaluations regarding their success or failure in controlled sports activities. For instance, after his or her Little League team loses a game, a child undergoes a mental process with inputs based on information about the game, causal attribution, expectancy for future wins and losses, feelings of pride or shame, and decisions regarding future participation or persistence. The child's age is a factor in this evaluation. Children under the age of 10 routinely fail to input information about the game itself; they believe that outcomes are primarily dependent on their ability and skill: "We have a
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