Howie Is Still Not Entirely Sure How Smart He Is

Howie is still not entirely sure how smart he is, so he asks other students in his first grade class how they did on a test. After checking with 5 other children, Howie realizes he did better than any of them and Howie concludes he must be pretty smart after all. The process by which Howie reached this conclusion is __________.

A) indirect definition
B) self-fulfilling prophesy
C) script
D) reflected appraisal
E) social comparison