Looking up versus looking down: attractiveness-based organizational biases are moderated by social comparison direction

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Agthe ◽  
Matthias Spörrle ◽  
Dieter Frey ◽  
Jon K. Maner
Keyword(s):  
Social Comparison ◽  
Comparison Direction

Relationship social comparisons: Comparison interpretations and attributions as predictors of relationship quality

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 1069-1097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marian M. Morry ◽  
Kenny C. Chee ◽  
Trinda L. Penniston ◽  
Tamara A. Sucharyna
Keyword(s):  
Social Comparison ◽  
Relationship Quality ◽  
Social Comparisons ◽  
Upward Comparison ◽  
Downward Comparison ◽  
Relationship Success ◽  
Comparison Direction ◽  
Dating Relationship

How individuals interpret a relationship social comparison is important to their relationship quality. We asked whether relationship social comparison interpretations (RSCIs) differ from relationship attributions. Individuals were randomly assigned to compare their dating relationship to a friend’s relationship that was doing better (upward comparison) or worse (downward comparison) than their own. Individuals then completed measures for the RSCI and attributions for their own relationship success/failure (Study 1) and attributions for their friend’s relationship success/failure (Study 2). Correlations indicated that the RSCI and attributions were not isomorphic. Simultaneous regressions indicated that the RSCI was a more consistent predictor of relationship quality than were attributions. How individuals interpret social comparisons not just the comparison direction should be studied.

Social Comparison in the Classroom: A Review

2008 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 828-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieternel Dijkstra ◽  
Hans Kuyper ◽  
Greetje van der Werf ◽  
Abraham P. Buunk ◽  
Yvonne G. van der Zee
Keyword(s):  
Negative Affect ◽  
Social Comparison ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Comparison Theory ◽  
Comparison Theory ◽  
Comparison Direction ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Better Than

This article reviews research conducted on social comparison processes in the classroom since Festinger proposed his theory of social comparison. It covers the theoretical framework of social comparison theory, and it is organized around the following themes: motives for social comparison, dimensions of social comparison, direction of social comparison, and consequences of social comparison. The overall picture is an emerging one in which pupils prefer to compare their performances upward—specifically, with pupils who perform better than themselves but who resemble themselves on related and unrelated attributes. Although the magnitude of the effects of social comparison in the classroom is not examined, the review suggests that such upward comparisons not only lead pupils to perform better but evoke negative affect and lower academic self-concept. Topics discussed include inconsistencies (especially with regard to the direction of comparison and the motives underlying social comparison in the classroom), practical implications, and directions for future research.

scholarly journals Istraživanja procesa socijalnog uspoređivanja: Osnovni teorijski i metodološki pristup

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Ćubela
Keyword(s):  
Social Comparison ◽  
Social Comparisons ◽  
Personal Control ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Comparison Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
Comparison Direction ◽  
Self Protection

This paper presents a review of some basic theories and empirical findings about the social comparison processes. Festinger’s theory of social comparison processes was not just the first attempt to systematically elaborate the role of these processes in self-evaluation, but remains also one of the most cited references in social comparison literature. After Festinger’s pioneering work, two basic lines in the development of this research area could be distinguished. The first line, which is based on Festinger’s basic assumption that people compare to others primarily when objective standards for self- evaluation are unavailable, is characterised by the research focus on the preference for specific directions of self-evaluative social comparisons and the relative importance in self-evaluation of social comparison and other types of comparisons, such as temporal comparisons. The second, more recent one, focused more on the consequences and the motives of social comparison, especially on the self-enhancement motive. It was established that these comparison processes are related to other motives as well (e. g. self-protection, self-improvement etc), and that, in addition to comparison direction and motives, the consequences of social comparison also depend on some other factors, such as an individual’s self-esteem level, personal control, his/her perceived closeness and similarity with comparison target, the nature of the comparison dimension etc. The last part of this paper presents an overview of the main methodological approaches in social comparison research, including some useful suggestions for the researchers with regard to some particular procedures and techniques for the assessment of social comparisons.

Affective Reactions to Social Income Comparisons

2001 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 142-151
Author(s):  
Eduard Brandstätter
Keyword(s):  
Social Comparison ◽  
Relationship Quality ◽  
Target Person ◽  
Affective Reactions ◽  
Economic Psychology ◽  
Comparison Direction ◽  
Practical Implications

Summary: The article investigates specific affective reactions to social comparison outcomes within the framework of the contrast-empathy model ( Brandstätter, 1998 , 2000 ). One hundred and one participants received vignettes that described social income comparisons between a target person and a comparison other. In these vignettes comparison direction, relationship quality and relevance were varied. Participants (1) freely expressed the target person's likely emotions and (2) rated the hedonic intensities of various emotions mentioned. Results support the predictions derived from the contrast-empathy model, corroborate a stronger impact of pity compared to empathetic joy, and suggest practical implications relevant for economic psychology.

Social Comparison in the Workplace: A Study of 60 Dual-Career Couples

1997 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janice M. Steil ◽  
Jennifer L. Hay
Keyword(s):  
Social Comparison ◽  
Social Comparisons ◽  
Family Factors ◽  
Parental Status ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Gender Integration ◽  
Dual Career Couples ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Comparison Direction ◽  
Work Goals

This study assessed the extent to which job factors (income, prestige, and gender integration), family factors (earnings relative to spouse, parental status), work goals, and personality attributes predicted men's and women's social comparisons and perceptions of faring at work. Respondents were 60 men and 60 women in high-achieving, somewhat male-dominated positions. Men reported more same-sex and fewer cross-sex comparisons than women did. Overall, however, almost half of the respondents said they compared predominantly with others of both sexes. There was no relationship between sex of comparison other and comparison direction. The best predictors of sex of comparison were respondent sex and income. The best predictor of comparison direction was parental status. Autonomy, dominance, and achievement striving was the best predictor of perceptions of work faring.

The Effect of Social Comparison with Peers on Self-Evaluation

2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 526-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chia-Ching Tsai ◽  
Yung-Kai Yang ◽  
Chia-Hsin Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Social Comparison ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Comparison Direction ◽  
Relevant Domain ◽  
Asian Sample

Social comparison refers to self-evaluation against other people. When people are outperformed by peers in a domain relevant (irrelevant) to them, it negatively (positively) affects how they evaluate themselves, compared to an irrelevant (relevant) domain. Whether a domain is self-relevant or self-irrelevant, the comparison direction and closeness should interact on how people evaluate themselves. Taiwanese undergraduates ( N = 276) ages 19 to 22 years ( M = 20.5, SD = 1.8), participated to assess whether the results from Western samples would be similar to those in an Asian sample, which were expected to be more collectivist.

Effects of Employees' Social Comparison Behaviors on Distributive Justice Perception and Job Satisfaction

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (7) ◽  
pp. 1071-1083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiseon Shin ◽  
Young Woo Sohn
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Distributive Justice ◽  
Social Comparison ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Work Attitudes ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Justice Perception ◽  
Comparison Direction

We explored the effects of direction and frequency of social comparison on employees' work attitudes. Full-time employees (N = 403) of 23 different organizations from various industries completed a paper-and-pencil survey. We found that people with a low core self-evaluation and a high performance approach tended to engage in social comparison frequently in both work-related and work-unrelated dimensions, and that these people generally reported lower levels of job satisfaction being mediated by distributive justice than other people did. Further, the relationship between comparison frequency and work attitude was moderated by comparison direction. Our study contributes to the social comparison literature by revealing the interplay between comparison frequency and direction, which influences employees' work attitudes.

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