This study examined the effect of three aspects of the testing context--physical privacy, anonymity, and offers of help from a tester--on children's expectations. Performance of 96 11-year-old boys and girls on a pictorial recall memory task in a simulated test was evaluated. The subjects were divided into eight different groups varying on the three factors. The strongest effect on expectations was from the variable of help offered, which acted to depress expectations. Though there were the predicted gender differences in expectations, the help variable appeared to disadvantage girls and boys similarly, and to mediate the effects of other variables. Results of extensive interviews carried out with the children supported an interpretation based on the idea that an offer of help may be interpreted by the child from an "ego-involved" perspective, for example, as a sign that the adult has a poor opinion of the child's capabilities. (Author/JAZ)