In 1954, social psychologist leon festinger popularized socialcomparison theory, which argues that we have an intrinsic desire to assess our progress by comparing ourselves to others. People sometimes compare themselves to others as a way of. First, there have been many restatements and amendments to the theory, some connecting it with other theories current in social psychology. Contributors describe how the original social comparison theory formulated by leon festinger in the early 1950s has been modified as a result of new insights from. We extend this work in a survey that looks at three main questions. While social comparison has been given only modest attention in the networks literature, it is a ubiquitous feature of social life as this volume shows, with widereaching implications for decision making and behavior.
Social comparison theory essay sample new york essays. Jun 18, 2015 according to the social comparison theory, we determine our personal selfworth based on how we compare to others around us. Festinger 1954 was the first to theorize that comparing oneself to others is a human need essential for acquiring information about the self. Pdf social networking sites snss, such as facebook, provide abundant social comparison opportunities. The authors found that people generally tend to choose an upward rather than downward comparison target and, surprisingly, that threat leads to increased. Any theory of the social group therefore would be a strange theory indeed if it did not deal with social comparison processes. Humans have the unique ability to coordinate behavior, economic exchange, political action, and social relationships across immense distances and times. Study of motivation involving selfannounced goals of fifth grade children and the concept of level of aspiration, journal of social psychology, 1939, 10, 209232. Social comparison processes between workers play a potentially important role both within firms and in the labor market. While opinions and abilities may, at first glance, seem to be. According to the social comparison theory, we determine our personal selfworth based on how we compare to others around us. There exists, in the human organism, a drive to evaluate his opinions and his abilities.
That is, the positive effects of downward social comparisons on selfconcept were stronger in size than the negative. Festingers social comparison theory dealt with comparison within groups and other facetoface comparisons. Handbook of social comparison theory and research jerry. What is social comparison theory and how does it affect you. The effect of instagram on selfesteem and life satisfaction.
Although interest in the theory has waxed and waned since then goethals, 1986b, social comparison research has enjoyed a resurgence recently. A persons cognition his opinions and beliefs about the situation in which he exists and his. Additional work stimulated by social comparison theory has also indicated that the process may be an important component of body image disturbances. Social comparison theory has evolved considerably since festinger 1954 originally proposed it. Apr 19, 2018 social comparison research has some very well defined experimental procedures, and the authors narrowed down an initial 1200 papers to 145 that met their strictest method requirements. Social comparison theory greenwood major reference.
A theory of social comparison processes center for human science. A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger. When psychologists think of social comparison theory, they initially recall leon festingers classic paper on a theory of social comparison processes. What is social comparison theory and how does it affect. Social comparison theory the theory that i had chosen to discuss and research about would happen to be the social comparison theory.
His theory states that humans have an inherent drive to accurately evaluate their opinions and abilities. According to social comparison theory, individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how they measure up against others. Social comparison theory an overview sciencedirect topics. Jun 11, 2017 a lot of earlier research had impact on festingers formulation of the social comparison theory, and these include studies on social groups, group dynamics, social communication, conformity and the autokinetic effect, compliant behavior, level of aspiration, and independence and dependence in response to unanimous majority. People make all kinds of judgments about themselves, and one of the key ways that we do this is through social comparison, or analyzing the self in relation to. Research suggests that upwards social comparisons can predict success in an academic environment. Until the 1990s, most students of social comparison theory believed that comparison always led to contrast with the comparison target. The hypothesis that social comparison processes and associated fairness concerns affect the labor market has a long history. Pdf a theory of social comparison processes semantic. Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal. Social comparison theory has also been applied to an academic setting.
A detailed understanding of the relation between social comparison and broad patterns of social life is. Blantons publications concern individual and group comparison processes, behavioral selfregulation, normative social influence, research methods, and the. This states that people evaluate their own abilities and attitude relative to other peoples. Oct 25, 2018 while social media can be beneficial to share information, especially with loved ones residing in different geographical regions, social media also serves as a grand stage for social comparison. When we make what he calls upward comparisons, we measure ourselves against people to whom we feel inferior. Psychologist leon festinger proposed the theory of social comparison in 1954. This study examined the implications for social comparison theory of the proposition that women have lower selfconfidence than men when there is a socially defined standard of performance. Social comparison theory encompasses a rich and complex array of interpersonal motivations, processes, and outcomes. Study of motivation involving selfannounced goals of fifth grade children and the concept of level of. Theory and research concerning social comparisons of. Social identity theory, which was formulated by social psychologist henri tajfel and john turner in the 1970s, describes the conditions under which social identity becomes more important than ones identity as an individual. The social comparison theory was initially proposed by social psychologist leon festinger in 1954. Festingers social comparison theory is a successor of his theory of.
Although social comparison theory was once dubbed everybodys sec ond favorite theory in social psychology but almost nobodys first arrowood, 1978, p. To keep this level of coordination running smoothly, we often look to others as comparison standards for how to behave, think, and feel. Sure, there is no harm in looking across the room and comparing your. Social comparison theory received little attention after its original publication. Both before and after festingers original set of propositions about our drive to evaluate the self in comparison to similar others, many other theorists have provided nuances and updates.
Even with the possibility of near zero effects in mind see the section hypothesis vii, the net effect of dimensional comparisons can be assumed to be typically positive. In addition, the role of selfesteem and impression management is explored as antecedents of social comparison on facebook. A look at facebook and twitter abstract recent attention has focused on the tendency for social media, namely facebook and its news feed, to promote unfavorable social comparisons, or envy. The basic premise of the theory of social comparison processes is that one has a drive to evaluate his opinions and his abilities festinger, 1954, p. In 1954, leon festinger published his theory of social comparison.
White the university of queensland identity theory and social identity theory are two remarkably similar perspectives on the. The social comparison theory explains how individuals compare themselves to. Social comparison and the idealized images of advertising. The old one states that members of a particular group would want to be parallel with each other because a uniform agreement must be made so that the group is able to come up with a common decision. A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger, 1954. Interest in social comparison is predicted to remain high because of the centrality of social comparison processes in overall selfevaluation and their relevance to a wide range of social psychological concerns, including attribution.
Pdf social comparisons comparisons between the self and others are. Pdf social comparison, social media, and selfesteem. The theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others in order to reduce uncertainty in these domains, and learn how to define the self. This theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and desires by comparing themselves to others. Plato spoke of selfunderstanding and absolute standards. Social identity is the part of the self that is defined by ones group memberships. Over 100 journal articles on social comparison have appeared.
The social comparison theory what is the social comparison theory. So many aspects of human experience are derived from some form of comparison. When objective evaluations are not available, people compare themselves to their peers. Other authors recognized that people may compare themselves with members of groups they do not belong to or with social categoriesindividuals who share a social status but who have no social interaction merton 1957. This interest culminated in the publication of suls and millers 1977 book on social comparison. Social comparison theory was founded by leon festinger, a social psychologist, in the 1950s. In this paper we shall present a further development of a previously published theory concerning opinion influence processes in social groups 7. Leon festingers social comparison theory the psychology. Apr 08, 2017 the social comparison theory was developed by social psychologist leon festinger. Specifically, we shall develop below how the theory applies to the appraisal and evaluation of abilities as well as opinions. He believed that people have an innate drive to evaluate themselves.
Miller and others published social comparison theory find, read and cite all the research you need on. Pdf a theory of social comparison processes semantic scholar. That is, an upward comparison with someone better lowered a persons selfevaluation, and a downward comparison with someone worse raised the selfevaluation, as shown in the mr cleanmr dirty study. The theory proposes that individuals have an internal drive to evaluate their own opinions and desires by comparing themselves to others. In this paper we shall present a further development of a previously published theory concerning opinion. Social comparison therapy in social media newport academy. Festingers social comparison theory psychology essay. A theory of social comparison processes, retrieved september 12, 2007, from hum. Heinberg and thompson 1992 asked 297 women and men to rate the importance of different comparison groups i. However, in the three decades since the publication of this work, social comparison theory has evolved in several ways. This article integrates these changes with insights offered by. The theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others in order to reduce uncertainty in these. After four decades of research, the topic of social comparison is more popular than ever. Social comparison theory is a psychological theory originally coined by leon festinger in 1954.
The central idea of social comparison theory is that individuals often assess how well they are doing by comparing themselves with others around them. Comparison of objects, events, and situations is integral to judgment. That is, an upward comparison with someone better lowered a persons selfevaluation, and a downward comparison. In 1954, festinger proposed a theory of social comparison based on this insight. Social comparison theory, initially proposed by social psychologist leon festinger in 1954, centers on the belief that there is a drive within individuals to gain accurate selfevaluations. Festinger argued that humans have a drive to evaluate their opinions and abilities. Social comparison and selfpresentation on social media as. Social comparison is an aspect of social perception, and has developed from a theory initially proposed by social psychologist leon festinger in 1954. A lot of earlier research had impact on festingers formulation of the social comparison theory, and these include studies on social groups, group dynamics, social communication, conformity and the autokinetic effect, compliant behavior, level of aspiration, and independence and dependence in response to unanimous majority. Social identity and social comparison springerlink.
Downward social comparison an overview sciencedirect. Article information, pdf download for a theory of social comparison processes, open. In this theory, it simply asserts that the process in which people learn about themselves by comparing themselves to other members of society. Social comparison theory was founded by leon festinger, a. While opinions and abilities may, at first glance, seem to be quite different things, there is a close functional tie between them. Social comparison theory in psychology verywell mind. Social comparison theory was first proposed in 1954 by psychologist leon festinger and suggested that people have an innate drive to evaluate themselves, often in comparison to others. Early research in social psychology on level of aspiration and on reference groups contributed to leon festingers social comparison theory, which he proposed in 1954. This theory focusses on the belief that individuals have a drive to gain accurate selfevaluations.
Social comparison theory festinger was the first to coin the term social comparison however, the general concepts can be traced back to aristotle and plato. Schiff1 1university of michigan and 2university of notre dame abstract social comparisonthe tendency to selfevaluate by comparing ourselves to othersis an important source of competitive behavior. The theory also specifies the ways in which social identity can influence intergroup. While social media can be beneficial to share information, especially with loved ones residing in different geographical regions, social media also serves as a grand stage for social comparison. The social comparison theory was developed by social psychologist leon festinger. Social comparison research has some very well defined experimental procedures, and the authors narrowed down an initial 1200 papers to 145 that met their strictest method requirements. They act together in the manner in which they affect behavior. Social comparison theory states that individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how they stack up against others. The concept of social comparison was first termed and fully developed by festinger 1954, who hypothesized that we are unable to selfjudge our opinions and abilities accurately, and instead rely on comparing ourselves to other people to form an evaluation. Such theories and hypotheses in the area of social psychology are frequently viewed in terms of how plausible they seem. Regulation theory, a comparisonbased theory of behavioral selfregulation, he received the 2002 theoretical innovation award from the society of personality and social psychology.
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