Not all who experience the same conditions turn out the same way. People sometimes compare themselves to others as a way of. 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. Apr 08, 2017 the social comparison theory was developed by social psychologist leon festinger. Pdf a theory of social comparison processes semantic scholar. 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. The authors found that people generally tend to choose an upward rather than downward comparison target and, surprisingly, that threat leads to increased. A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger, 1954. Social comparison theory an overview sciencedirect topics. Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal.
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. Social comparison has grown substantially in the last 50 years, and there has been a great deal of empirical research on the impact of different types of comparisons. A recent test of social information processing theory showed little effect of anonymous social cues. Read online a theory of social comparison processes leon festinger book pdf free download link book now. Perhaps the most difficult problem is finding exogenous sources of wage variations that trigger social comparison processes associated with behavioral effects. We do this because we have a drive to become better. Social comparison theory social comparison theory the social comparison theory was proposed by the social psychologist leon festinger in 1954. Moreover, social comparison processes are central to other prominent the ories in social psychology. His theories and research are credited with renouncing the previously dominant behaviorist view of social psychology by demonstrating the inadequacy of stimulusresponse conditioning accounts of human behavior. Any theory of the social group therefore would be a strange theory indeed if it did not deal with social comparison processes. Miller hemisphere publishing company, 1977 psychology 371 pages. The conflict theory is a macrolevel theory designed to study the larger social, national, regional, or global levels of sociological phenomena. Social comparison and persuasion processes in health. 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.
According to the theory of social comparison processes, people have the desire to accurately evaluate their own opinions. Social media has experienced an exponential rise in popularity over the last decade, but its effects on mental health are still under investigation. To the extent that objective, nonsocial means are not available, people evaluate their opinions and abilities by comparison respectively with the. It should be immediately evident that the origin of social comparison theory is quite complex. Theory and research concerning social comparisons of. Social comparison processes continue to find a central place in many efforts to explain social behavior. When psychologists think of social comparison theory, they initially recall leon festingers classic paper on a theory of social comparison processes. In recent years, basic research and theory on social comparison activities has been applied to understanding the coping processes of people undergoing stressful events. Social comparison theory states that individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how they stack up against others. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 102, 2241. Leon festinger we can choose to compare people at the top or bottom. Some evidence suggests that social media helps people stay more connected, and social connection is a powerful buffer. Social identity theory was developed to explain how individuals create and define their place in society. Social process theories 149 section 5 the social structural theories discussed in the previous section only explain part of the possible reason that kody scott chose the path in life he did.
Social comparison theory in psychology verywell mind. Leon festinger 8 may 1919 11 february 1989 was an american social psychologist, perhaps best known for cognitive dissonance and social comparison theory. You can be signed in via any or all of the methods shown below at the same time. The theory also specifies the ways in which social identity can influence intergroup. Two basic social processes, persuasion and social comparison, have figured prominently in the development and implementation of health communications since the early 1950s. A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger.
A theory of social comparison processes center for human science. Social comparison theory has also been applied to an academic setting. His first hypothesis states that there exist, in the human organism, a drive to evaluate his opinions and abilities. There exists, in the human organism, a drive to evaluate his opinions and his abilities. Today, thirtyfive social and cognitive psychologists who share a.
One example is the vast amount of influential research inspired by social identity theory tajfel and turner 1979, which assumes that a large part of a person s identity follows from social comparisons between ingroup and outgroup. These investigations have both elucidated coping and highlighted issues that need reconsideration in traditional social comparison frameworks. Leon festinger mentioned his hypotheses in his book entitled social comparison processes that gives substantial exploration of his theory. While social comparison research has focused on the processes and consequences of how the comparer gleans information from the comparison other individual or group, recent research on social networks demonstrates how information and influence is. Some evidence suggests that social media helps people stay more connected, and social connection is a powerful buffer against stress and a boon to ones mental health. As we discussed earlier, compensation committees play an important role in setting executive compensation, and compensation committees often include ceos from other organizations of equal or greater stature. Festinger argued that humans have a drive to evaluate their opinions and abilities. Download a theory of social comparison processes leon festinger book pdf free download link or read online here in pdf.
Other research has shown that social comparison is important in determining subjective wellbeing see, e. 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. Objective to investigate social comparison processes as a potential mechanism by which social networks impact young womens weight control thoughts and behaviors and to examine whether social. 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. Research suggests that upwards social comparisons can predict success in an academic environment. Social identity is the part of the self that is defined by ones group memberships. A recent test of social information processing theory showed little effect of anonymous social cues on choices of brief tasks kilduff regan, 1988. Social comparison and the idealized images of advertising. Using social comparison theory as a theoretical framework, we test the notion that when consumers are exposed to social comparison information that threatens their selfidentity they will utilize deception as a mechanism to respond to this threat. Specifically, we describe how social comparison processes have been used to explain six key areas of. According to the theory, three psychological processes are central in that regard.
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. Sign in here to access free tools such as favourites and alerts, or to access. This paper first presents four different conceptualizations of social support. Festingers social comparison theory psychology essay.
Researchers have applied social comparison theory to explain the processes for setting executive compensation oreilly et al. Marx was a witness to oppression perpetrated by societys elite members against the masses of poor. Later published as social comparison processes in organizations. Moreover, social comparison processes are central to other prominent the. Study of motivation involving selfannounced goals of fifth grade children and the concept of level of aspiration, journal of social psychology, 1939, 10, 209. Jul 22, 2019 social identity theory is built on three key cognitive components. The theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others in order to reduce uncertainty in these.
All books are in clear copy here, and all files are secure so dont worry about it. Fifty years ago, festinger 1954 published a theory of social comparison. Pdf a theory of social comparison processes semantic. 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. This volume, consisting of a series of original chapters by leading professionals in the field, presents the most advanced thinking and research on this topic. Then, classic and contemporary social comparison theory and social exchange theory are analysed as they are two theoretical perspectives that are particularly useful in. Abstract we systematically analyze the role of social comparison processes in organizations.
This paper furthers festingers views on group influences of opinions and applies it to abilities as well. Jun 11, 2017 leon festinger mentioned his hypotheses in his book entitled social comparison processes that gives substantial exploration of his theory. Downward comparison principles in social psychology. Kevin thompson university of south florida a total of 1,760 females and males were assessed for cognitive social. The theory of downward comparison posits that persons experiencing negative affect can enhance their subjective wellbeing through comparison with a less fortunate other, the process occurring on. Why is the motivation of nonregular employees not low. Social comparison theory greenwood major reference.
The work offers a context for educators in teaching and helping students to apply theory in their own practices. An investigation of body comparison processes using multidimensional scaling erik fisher university of south florida michael dunn university of central florida j. However, in the three decades since the publication of this work, social comparison theory has evolved in several ways. In this paper we shall present a further development of a previously published theory concerning opinion. Social comparison theory encompasses a rich and complex array of interpersonal motivations, processes, and outcomes. 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 1954s discussion of the theory of social comparison processes was the first study to substantially consider the act of comparing oneself to others.
The hypothesis that social comparison processes and associated fairness concerns affect the labor market has a long history. Generally, individuals wish to maintain a positive social identity by maintaining their groups favorable social standing over that of relevant outgroups. Sanders and baron propose that the information processes described by persuasivearguments theory and the normative processes described by social comparison theory have complementary effects on polarization, with persuasivearguments facilitating the shifts motivated by social comparison. 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. 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 social comparison theory was developed by social psychologist leon festinger. Our research is the first to consider deception as an outcome of social comparison processes. Pdf a theory of social comparison processes scinapse. A theory of social comparison processes, retrieved september 12, 2007, from hum. During the past decade, social comparison processes have been the focus of considerable research and theorizing in social psychology.
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. While opinions and abilities may, at first glance, seem to be. A social comparison approach to organizational choice under what circumstances does social information affect choices. Social identity and social comparison springerlink.
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