Social comparison theory assumes that people tend to evaluate their successes, failures and opinions in relation to others festinger, 1954. Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal. Physical appearance as a measure of social ranking. As social comparison theory states, this quest for selfknowle festinger 1954 social comparison theo individuals are driven by desire for selfevaluation, a motiva. Festinger proposed that humans have a drive to evaluate themselves and that they evaluate themselves by comparison with others when nonsocial means are unavailable. Social comparison as the thief of joy research explorer.
Indeed, the holding of incorrect opin ions andor inaccurate appraisals of ones abilities can be pun ishing or even fatal in many situations festinger, 1954, p. Deutsch and krauss argued that people actually seek out dissimilar others in their comparisons maintaining that this is important for providing valuable. His first hypothesis is that in humans there exists a drive to evaluate his opinions and abilities by comparison with the opinions and abilities of others. Social comparison theory and drive for self evaluation. People tend to compete with those with similar st slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising.
Social comparison theory was first proposed by leon festinger in 1954 and asserts that people learn about themselves through comparisons with other people. A theory of social comparison processes center for human science. Social comparison has a long history in the literature. Festinger argued that humans have a drive to evaluate their opinions and abilities. A theory of social comparison processes show all authors. According to leon festingeras 1954 social comparison theory, we have a need to evaluate our opinions and abilities, to figure out our strengths and weaknesses, in order to have an accurate view of ourselves. 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. Nov 22, 20 leon festinger social comparison theory people need to compare their abilities against those of others. It is 40 years since festinger s 1954 landmark paper highlighting social comparison as a key variable in social relating.
In this paper we shall present a further development of a previously published theory concerning. In this paper we shall present a further development of a previously published theory concerning opinion influence processes in social groups 7. The theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others in order to reduce uncertainty in these. Leon festingers social comparison theory the psychology. The theory of downward social comparison indicates that comparing oneself to someone. When psychologists think of social comparison theory, they initially recall leon festinger s classic paper on a theory of social comparison processes. Festinger 1954 with others who are more similar to us on the relevant dimension. 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. Psychometric properties of the social comparison motives scale. Cultural differences in social comparison on facebook. Leon festinger a theory of social comparison processes. Leon festinger, 1954 theory of social comparison wild. Jun 11, 2017 in the early 1950s, the behavioral sciences division of the ford foundation gave leon festinger a grant, which was part of the program of the laboratory for research in social relations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between bodyrelated social comparison brsc and eating disorders eds by.
Ambiguity also circulated about the important dimensions for similarity. But from the perspective of social comparison theory festinger, 1954 people faced. May 1, 1954 this article is part of the following special collections. According to social comparison theory festinger, 1954. Apr 08, 2017 the social comparison theory was developed by social psychologist leon festinger. Social comparisons are frequently used for selfevaluation. A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger, 1954. Pdf social comparison theory entry for encyclopedia of. Leon festinger social comparison theory people need to compare their abilities against those of others. Feb 21, 2014 the social comparison theory was proposed by the social psychologist leon festinger in 1954.
Delving into motivations for and the impact of social comparison among students. Many criticisms arose regarding festingers similarity hypothesis. This paper furthers festingers views on group influences of opinions and applies it to abilities as well. Deutsch and krauss argued that people actually seek out dissimilar others in their comparisons maintaining that this is important for providing valuable selfknowledge, as demonstrated in research. Social comparison theory in psychology verywell mind. Downward social comparison acts in the opposite direction. However, in the three decades since the publication of this work, social comparison theory has evolved in several ways. University of groningen the effects of social comparison. Intro to psychology b class37 social comparison according. In the initial statement of a theory of social comparison, festinget 1954 limited the comparisons with which the theory was concerned to those involving opinions and abilities. This paper furthers festinger s views on group influences of opinions and applies it to abilities as well. According to social comparison theory festinger, we compare ourselves to others in order to evaluate the opinions, abilities and our inner states, especially when there is no objective criterion for evaluation. Aug 31, 2000 comparison of objects, events, and situations is integral to judgment. Social comparison theory social comparison theory the social comparison theory was proposed by the social psychologist leon festinger in 1954.
Wood, 1989, 1996, resulting in a massive contemporary literature on social comparison processes e. As earlier mentioned, social comparison theory festinger, 1954 posits that individuals have a natural drive to compare their own attributes and abilities with the abilities and attributes of others. A comparison of the self to another who does better than or is superior to us. From this grant, he was able to write his first document on the social comparison theory and published it in the journal of human relations in 1954. Plato spoke of selfunderstanding and absolute standards. 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 attribution, social cognition, and self theories. 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. Social comparison theory, based on ones drive for selfevaluation, was first coined by leon festinger 1954. According to the social comparison theory, we determine our personal selfworth based on how we compare to others around us. Predictors and consequences of target selection among individuals with type 2 diabetes. 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. Social comparison and the idealized images of advertising. It is 40 years since festingers 1954 landmark paper highlighting social comparison as a key variable in social relating. Pdf a theory of social comparison processes semantic scholar.
Explain how the social comparison findings, methodology, and theorizing have evolved since the publication of leon festingers theory in 1954. Think of a situation in which your assigned derivation might happen in the real life of youth. A theory of social comparison processes, retrieved september 12, 2007, from hum. The development of social comparison hinged on several sociopsychological processes, and in order to create this theory, festinger was influenced by research that focused on social communication festinger, 1950, group dynamics, conformity and the autokinetic effect sherif, 1936, compliant behavior, social groups, independence and.
When abilities are being evaluated, pressures toward uniformity combine. N2 proposes a theory of temporal and historical comparison, developed from l. In the early 1950s, the behavioral sciences division of the ford foundation gave leon festinger a grant, which was part of the program of the laboratory for research in social relations. Social comparison, social attractiveness and evolution. For this, we are indebted to festinger 1954, whose influential theory of social comparison introduced over a half century ago subsequently gave rise to more refined conceptual developments e. A temporal perspective on social comparisons in organizations. But from the perspective of social comparison theory festinger, 1954 people faced with important and ambiguous decisions, such as the choice of an organization to work for, are likely to make their choices. We draw not only on research that has directly examined competition but also on studies in social comparison and related fields that have significant implications for its analysis. A central premise of the theory is that an individual chooses a social.
Steph seidel mass media and public opinion social comparison reaction paper the social comparison theory was developed by leo festinger in 1954, and supposes that human beings are innately driven to evaluate their opinions, abilities and overall selfworth. According to the social comparison theory festinger 1954, such comparison is often downward, as individuals are inclined to think that they are smarter, better off, and more fortunate than most other people. Social comparison theory in the context of chronic illness. Social comparison theory states that individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how they stack up against others. In the seminal work on social comparison, festinger 1954 suggested that when individuals are uncertain about their opin ions or abilities, they will compare themselves with others to evaluate their own situation. Festinger proposed that humans have a drive to evaluate themselves and that they evaluate themselves by comparison. According to the social comparison theory festinger 1954 such. Festingers see record 195502305001 theory of social comparison by means of a metatheoretical device, conceptual translation, a semantic algorithm that consists of an informal dictionary and a set of rewriting rules.
Festinger emphasized accurate selfevaluation as the purpose of social comparison. According to festingers 1954 formulation of social comparison theory, 1 human beings leam about themselves by comparing themselves to others. Write about the interaction between affect and social comparison. Social comparison processes between workers play a potentially important role both within firms and in the labor market.
Sep 15, 2009 the social comparison theory was developed by leo festinger in 1954, and supposes that human beings are innately driven to evaluate their opinions, abilities and overall selfworth. This theory first proposed in 1954 states that within every individual there is a drive a force to gain selfevaluation and also find a way to define themselves. 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. Social comparison theory an overview sciencedirect topics. From the time festinger launched the study of social comparison processes with his seminal paper in 1954, social comparison theory has been applied to virtually every type of evaluation that is important to peoples understanding of who. Social comparison theory festinger 1954 suggested that people compare themselves to others because for many domains and attributes there is no objective yardstick to evaluate ourselves against, and other people are therefore highly informative. Social comparison theory festinger 1954 is directly applicable to the notion that consumers compare themselves with persons portrayed in ads. The correct answer is that social comparison theory by festinger provides an important rationale for how individuals come to know themselves. Gilbert, price and allan 1995 state that the need to compare self with others, also recognizable in other species, is. When psychologists think of social comparison theory, they initially recall leon festingers classic paper on a theory of social comparison processes. After four decades of research, the topic of social comparison is more popular than ever. Festinger characterized the individual as largely rational.
Comparison approach to organizational choice under what circumstances does social information affect choices. According to social comparison theory festinger, 1954, people use such social information to learn about their own situation. Bodyrelated social comparison and disordered eating among. Perhaps the limitation was included because festinger felt that a single theory could not. Hochbaum 18 reports an experiment concerning the effect of knowledge of others opinions on. 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 based his theory on nine hypotheses see table 4. In conclusion, a short, theorybased intervention communicating social comparison in. Festingers social comparison theory psychology essay. 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.
In order to evaluate themselves, individuals look towards other people they can identify with, and make comparisons. It is suggested that an evolutionary approach adds a new dimension to current theories of social comparison. Theory and research concerning social comparisons of. Festingers social comparison theory provides an important. Pdf on jan 2, 2018, j p gerber and others published social comparison theory entry for encyclopedia of personality and individual differences find, read and cite all the research you need on. A state of good physical and emotional health allows individuals to freely engage in desired tasks, which in turn promote independence, wellbeing, and life satisfaction. The social comparison theory was developed by social psychologist leon festinger.
In order to evaluate themselves, individuals look towards other people they can identify with, and make comparisons between themselves and others. The theory is a term referring to the process through which people come to know themselves by evaluating their own attitudes, abilities, and beliefs in comparison with others cherry, n. Leon festingers theory of social comparison processes festinger, 1954. 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. This may occur with reference to a physical reality. A recent test of social information processing theory showed little effect of anonymous social cues on choices of brief tasks kilduff regan, 1988. People sometimes compare themselves to others as a way of. Social comparison theory assumptions types of comparisons.