Social Comparison Theory & 12 Real-Life Examples

Social comparison refers to a behavior where we compare certain aspects of ourselves (e.g., our behavior, opinions, status, and success) to ... Skiptocontent Home Blog Store Team Contact LogIn AliciaNortje,Ph.D. 4 22-03-2022 Socialcomparisonisanormalbehaviorstrategywhereweseektobetterunderstandourstatusrelatingtoability,opinion,emotionalreaction,andmore,bycomparingourselvestootherpeople. Socialcomparisoncanbeusefulbecauseitprovidesuswithawaytodetermineifweare‘ontrack,’butitcanalsobeextremelyharmfulandresultinnegativethoughtsandbehaviors. Insteadofthedesiredeffect,whereweassessourabilitiesandopinionsagainstarealistic,achievablebenchmark(orrolemodel),socialcomparisonscanresultintheoppositeoutcome,wherewecompareourbehaviortoanunrealisticbenchmarkandsubsequentlydeveloplowself-esteem. Inthisarticle,wewillexploresocialcomparisontheoryandhowoursocialcomparisonscanleadtopositiveandnegativeemotions.We’lllearnaboutdifferenttypesofsocialcomparisontheoriesandhowdifferentcomparisonsresultindifferentemotionalstates. Afterward,we’llexaminetherelationshipbetweendepressionandsocialcomparison,aswellassocialmediaandsocialcomparison.Inconclusion,we’llofferabetterstrategy,onethatwethinksupersedessocialcomparisonbehaviorsandismorepowerful:gratitude. Beforeyoucontinue,wethoughtyoumightliketodownloadourthreePositiveRelationshipsExercisesforfree.Thesedetailed,science-basedexerciseswillhelpyouoryourclientsbuildhealthy,life-enrichingrelationships. ThisArticleContains: SocialComparisonTheoryDefined HistoryofSocialComparisonTheory SummaryofFestinger’sSocialComparisonTheory TheDirectionofSocialComparison Contrastvs.Assimilation 12Real-LifeExamples MeasuringSocialComparison:AScale SocialComparisonandDepression TheLinkBetweenSocialMediaandSelf-Esteem ABetterApproach:Gratitude ATake-HomeMessage References SocialComparisonTheoryDefined Howmanytimeshaveyoucomparedyourselftoyourfriendsorcolleaguesusingatraitthatyouconsiderdesirable,forexample,moneyorsuccess?Inliterature,thiscomparisonisknownassocialcomparison. Socialcomparisonreferstoabehaviorwherewecomparecertainaspectsofourselves(e.g.,ourbehavior,opinions,status,andsuccess)tootherpeoplesothatwehaveabetterassessmentofourselves(Buunk&Gibbons,2007). Initially,socialcomparisontheoryonlyincludedcomparisonsofopinionsandabilities(Festinger,1954),butsincethen,thetheoryhasexpandedtoincludeotheraspectssuchasemotions(Gibbons&Buunk,1999;Schachter,1959). Festinger(1954)proposedthatsocialcomparisonwasdrivenbyaneedtoevaluateourselvessothatwehadmoreinformationaboutourselves;however,morerecenttheorysuggeststhatsocialcomparisonismotivatedbythreedrives(Gibbons&Buunk,1999): Self-evaluation Self-improvement Self-enhancement Theconceptofsocialcomparisonhasexpandeddramaticallyfromalimitedtheorythatonlyaddressedopinionsandabilitiestoincludemoreabstractconceptssuchasjobsatisfactionandoveralllifesuccess.   HistoryofSocialComparisonTheory TheconceptofsocialcomparisonwasfirsttermedandfullydevelopedbyFestinger(1954),whohypothesizedthatweareunabletoself-judgeouropinionsandabilitiesaccuratelyandinsteadrelyoncomparingourselvestootherpeopletoformanevaluation. Theseassessmentscreatedthroughcomparisonswithotherpeoplearereferredtoassocialcomparisons.Festinger(1954)arguedthatwearedriventoassessourabilitiesandopinionsto: Determinewhetherwearegoodenough(abilities)orcorrect(opinions) Setabenchmarkofwhatweaimtoachieve Thisbenchmarkisreferredtoasthelevelofaspiration.   SummaryofFestinger’sSocialComparisonTheory Inhis1954paper,Festingeroutlinedninehypothesesaboutourbehaviorandmotivationswhenusingsocialcomparisonsunderdifferentscenarios. Festinger’sargumentbeginswiththeinitialhypothesisthatevaluatingourskillsandopinionsisextremelyimportantforoursurvival.Goodexamplesofsurvivalbehaviorsandbeliefsincluderunningquickly(sothatyoucanoutrunalion)andhavinganopinionabouthownewlydiscoveredfoodshouldbeeaten. Thesetypesofviewsandbehaviorsarenotthatrelevanttocurrentmodernlife,butwecaneasilythinkofexamplesofbehaviorsandopinionsthatarestillimportant;forexample,howwouldyouknowifyouworkedasufficientnumberofhoursinaday?Orhowdoyouknowthatyouropinionaboutclimatechangeiscorrect?   Subjectiveversusobjectivemetrics Forsomecomparisons,wecaneasilymakethesecomparisonsreliablybyusinganobjectivemetric;forexample,wecouldobjectivelyevaluateoursportingperformancebasedonthetimetakentorunamile,thepoundsthatwecanlift,orthenumberoftimesthatwewinagainstouropponent.Forothercomparisons,however,itisnotsoeasy,becauseanobjectivemetricdoesn’texist. Forexample,whatwouldmakeapoliticalopinion‘correct?’HowwouldIknowifIam‘morehonest’thanotherpeople?Forthesecomparisons,weneedtorelyonmoresubjectivemetrics. Festingerwasmoreinterestedincomparisonsthatusedobjectivemetrics;however,herecognizedthatmostcomparisonsintherealworldwereamixofobjectiveandsubjectivemetrics. Ininstanceswhereanobjectivemetricdoesn’texist,wecanrelyoneitherself-evaluationorsocialevaluation.However,thesetwotypesofassessmentsarenotequallyuseful. Self-evaluationsareproblematicbecauseourassessmentsofourskillsandopinionsareunstableandunreliable.Theinstabilityofourself-assessmentsisduetothevolatilityofourself-imposedbenchmarks. Forexample,thebenchmarkthatIsetformyselftodayforbeing‘productive’mightdifferfrommybenchmarktomorrow.Asaconsequence,myself-assessmentsofmylevelofproductivitykeepchanging.Incontrast,socialevaluationsaremorestableandinformative,andwetendtopreferthemtoself-assessments.   Differenttypesofsocialevaluations Notallsocialevaluationsareequal.Whenmakingasocialevaluation,weareunlikelytocompareourselveswitharandomlychosenindividual;instead,weareinclinedtodrawcomparisonswithindividualswhoseabilityoropinionwejudgeasbeingclosetoourown. Forexample,Iwouldneedtochooseanappropriatecomparisonpersonwhenmakingameaningfuljudgmentaboutmydailyworkproductivity.Someonesimilartomewouldbeagoodexample(e.g.,approximatelythesameageandeducationwithoutchildren),andIwouldnotcomparemyselfagainstsomeoneexceptionallydissimilar(e.g.,aparentwhoistryingtoworkwhilekeepinganeyeontheirchildren). Thesetypesofcomparisonswithsimilarindividualsyieldmoreuseful,reliableassessments. Butwhatifasimilarlyskilledindividualdoesnotexistforcomparisonpurposes?Iftheonlyotheroptionistocompareourselvestosomeonewhoseskillleveloropinionisexceptionallydifferentfromourown,thenweseemtoavoidmakingacomparisonatall. Festinger(1954)arguedthatthelevelofaspirationthatweuseismorestablewhenweusesimilarlyskilledindividualsforcomparisonthanwhenwecompareourselvestoindividualswhoseskills/opinionsdiffersignificantlyfromourown.   Consequencesofdifferencesbetweenusandothers Ifwefindthatourability/opinionishighlysimilartothebenchmarkofperceived-to-be-similarindividuals,thenwefeelmoreemboldenedandconfidentinourabilities/opinions. Iftheevaluationhighlightsthatweareperformingpoorly,thentherearetwopossibleoutcomes.First,wemayaimtoimproveourbehaviorsothatwearemoresimilartotheotherindividuals.Second,wemaystrivetoinfluencetheotherindividualssothattheybecomemoresimilartous(thistacticismoreaptwhentryingtochangeopinionsthanabilities). Forexample,ifmyopiniondiffersgreatlyfromindividualssimilartome,thenIwilleitherchangemyopiniontobemoreinlinewiththem,orIwilltrytochangetheirviewssothattheyaremoreinlinewithmine. Eitherway,thenetresultisthatthegroupmembersbecomemoresimilar.   Groupdynamics Notallgroupmembersareincludedincomparisons.Withinagroup,theremaybeanindividualwhoseabilityoropiniondivergessignificantlyfromtheothermembers. Insuchinstances,thisindividualisnolongerconsideredaviablecomparisonandisnolongerincludedincomparisons.Festinger(1954)arguedthattheoutcomeisevenmoresevereincaseswhenwearecomparingopinions,becausethisdivergentindividualposessuchathreattoourevaluationofourownviewsthatweconsiderthemremovedfromthegroupandwillnolongertalktothem. Groupmembershipplaysanessentialroleinevaluations.Whengroupmembershipandconformingtogroupnormsaredesirable,thenwearemorelikelytorejectmemberswhoareverydifferentfromus.Thesemembersarenolongerincludedinoursocialcomparisons.Ifwefeelthatthequalitythatisbeingcomparedisimportant,thenwearealsomoremotivatedtoconformtothegroup’sbehaviorsandopinions. Furthermore,groupmemberswhoperformmostsimilartothegroupnormaretheleastmotivatedtochangetheirbehaviororopinionawayfromtheacceptedstandardand,instead,aremoremotivatedtochangethebehaviorandopinionsofothergroupmembers. Whenanindividualhasavieworanabilitythatisextremelydivergentfromthegroup,thenthatindividualmightbeforcedtoleavethegroupinfavorofanotherone,ortheoriginalgroupmightsplitintoasmallsubgroup. Butwhatwouldhappenifasecondcomparisongroupdoesn’texist,oriftheoriginalgroupisahighlydesirableone?OfthepossibleoutcomesthatFestinger(1954)presents,themostinterestingarethefollowing: Iftheindividualandthegroupdifferinopinion,itisverylikelythattheindividual’sopinionwillchangeandconformtothatofthegroup. Iftheindividualandthegroupdifferinability,thenitisunlikelythattheabilitylevelwillchange;instead,theindividualwilldevelopfeelingsofinferiority. Itshouldbeimmediatelyevidentthattheoriginofsocialcomparisontheoryisquitecomplex.Socialcomparisonhasgrownsubstantiallyinthelast50years,andtherehasbeenagreatdealofempiricalresearchontheimpactofdifferenttypesofcomparisons.   TheDirectionofSocialComparison Socialcomparisonsaredescribedaseitherupwardordownward. Whenweengageinupwardsocialcomparison,wecompareourselvestosomeonewhois(perceivedtobeorperforming)betterthanweare. Incontrast,whenweengageindownwardsocialcomparison,wecompareourselvestosomeonewhois(perceivedtobeorperforming)worsethanweare. Thedirectionofthecomparisondoesn’tguaranteethedirectionoftheoutcome.Bothtypesofsocialcomparisoncanresultinnegativeandpositiveeffects.   Upwardsocialcomparison “HeissomuchhappierandmoresuccessfulthanIam.” Thetypicalinclinationistocompareupward.Whenaskedwhoindividualswantedtocomparethemselveswith,themajoritychosepeoplewhoachievehigherscores(Wheeler,1966). Thisisn’tsurprising.Mostofuswouldwanttoknowhowweareperformingcomparedtootherswhoappeartobebetteroff.Thisupwardcomparisonisalsoreferredtoasanupwarddrive(Festinger,1954). Theeffectofupwardsocialcomparisonisvariable.Sometimesupwardsocialcomparisoncanbeverymotivating;forexample,wemightaspiretofollowinthefootstepsofarolemodel. Thefollowingfactorsmoderatethestrengthoftheupwarddrive: Upwarddriveisstrongerwhenthecomparisonismadecovertlyratherthanovertly. Forexample,Iammoremotivatedtoimprovemyability/skillswhenIcanmakecomparisonsprivately.ButIamlessmotivatedifImustmakethesecomparisonsinpersonbycomingincontactwiththecomparisonperson. Upwarddriveisstrongerwhentheindividualisnotatriskofbeingjudgedasinferior. Forexample,Iammoremotivatedtoimprovemyability/skillswhenIdon’tfeellikethecomparisonpersonwilltreatmepoorlyorlikeIaminferior.Iamlessmotivatedwhenthecomparisonpersontreatsmepoorly. Upwarddriveisstrongerwhentheindividualisinvestedinthetraitorability. Forexample,myupwarddriveisstrongerfortopicsthatinterestme.ButIhavelittleupwarddrivefortopicsthatareofnointeresttome. However,wearenotalwaysmotivatedtoimproveourability/skill/opinionafterupwardsocialcomparison,andupwardsocialcomparisoncanhavedetrimentaleffects.Herearesomeexampleswhereanupwardsocialcomparisonisnotproductiveandresultsinnegativebehaviors: Festinger(1954)suggeststhatwhenthecomparisonpersonisdeemedsuperiororverydifferenttous,thenwemightconsiderthemnottobeaviablecomparison. Inmoreextremeexamples,wemayevenexcludetheseindividualsfromoursocialgroup(Festinger,1954)orisolateourselvesfromothers(Tesser,1988). Sometimeswemaychoosetohandicapourselvesbychoosingsomeonewhoisextremelysuperior(Shepperd&Taylor,1999). Wemaysabotagetheeffortsofotherpeoplesothattheyperformlesswell(Pemberton&Sedikides,2001). Wemaydevelopfeelingsofinferioritybecauseweareremindedthatweareinferior,leadingtonegativeemotionssuchasdepression(Marsh&Parker,1984).   Downwardsocialcomparison “AtleastIdidn’tembarrassmyselfinfrontofeveryonelikethatgirl.” Indownwardsocialcomparisons,wecompareourselvestootherpeoplewhoareworseoff. Thisisacommonexperience,andwe’veallhadtheexperienceofreassuringourselvesofourbehaviorbycomparingourselveswithsomeoneelse.Althoughdownwardsocialcomparisonmightseemlikeaquickanddirtymovetoboostourself-esteem,theeffectsofdownwardsocialcomparisonsarevariableandcanalsoresultinnegativeoutcomes. We’remorelikelytoengageindownwardsocialcomparisonsinsituationswhereoursenseofselfandwellbeingisunderthreat;thesedownwardsocialcomparisonsmakeusfeelbetteraboutourselves(Wills,1981). Downwardsocialcomparisonsalsoresultinvariousotherpositiveoutcomes(Amoroso&Walters,1969;Gibbons,1986;Buunk&Gibbons,2007)suchas: Boostingself-esteem Experiencingpositiveemotionssuchashappiness Reducinganxiety Someresearchershavearguedthattheeffectofsocialcomparisons–upwardordownward–dependsontheindividual.Thedirectionofthecomparisondoesnotguaranteeonlypositiveornegativeoutcomes. Withupwardsocialcomparisons,wecanbecomemotivatedtostrivetowardnewachievementsbecausesomeonelikeushasreachedtheseachievementstoo;however,wemightalsobeconstantlyremindedthatweareinferiortosomeoneelse. Socialcomparisontheoryhypothesizesthatdownwardsocialcomparisonsshouldelevatehowwefeelaboutourcurrentstate,andwecantakecomfortinknowingthatwecouldbeworseoff. However,downwardsocialcomparisonsmightcauseusunhappinessbecauseweareremindedthatthesituationalwayshasthepotentialtoworsen,orwemightfeelunhappyknowingthesituationcanbecomeworse. Forexample,whencancerpatientsmeetotherpatientswhoseillnesshasprogressedfurther,theyreportedthattheyfeltthreatened.Theexplanationforthesecontraryfindingsisthattheotherpatients,whowereworseoff,wereareminderthattheirhealthcoulddeteriorate(Wood,Taylor,&Lichtman,1985).   12Real-LifeExamples “Ikindoflookeduptohim.Hewasoneofthefirsthigh-profilesportspeoplethatwashalfJapanese.Ithinktobeintheroleheisnow,andpeoplebetellingmethatIamthefaceofJapan’smulticulturalismissomethingI’vealwaysdreamedabout.” NaomiOsakadescribinghowApoloOhnoisherrolemodel Eachofushasreliedonupwardordownwardsocialexperiences.I’veprovidedalistofsomeeverydayexampleswherewemightusecomparisons.Perhapssomeoftheseexamplesresonatewithyou. Comparisonsabout… Upwardsocialcomparisons Downwardsocialcomparisons Sportingperformance Myneighborinspiresme.Ifhecanrunahalf-marathon,thensocanI. IfeelhappyknowingthatIbeatmyneighborinthehalf-marathon. Physicalappearance Myfriendmethertargetweight.Ifshecan,thensocanI. AtleastIdon’tdrinkasmuchalcoholasotherpeopleIknow. Jobperformance Mycolleaguealwaysmanagestobalanceworkandlife.Iwanttoachievethat. Myothercolleague’ssituationremindsmetoplanmyworkbettersothatI’mnotinthesamepositionthatthey’rein. Intelligence MyfriendissmarterthanIam.Shejustgetsit. Mycolleaguestrugglesallthetimewiththesametopics,whereasitjustclicksforme. Relationships CoupleZmakesitlooksoeasy.Theygetalongsowellandneverfight,unlikeus. WhenIseecoupleXfight,I’mremindedtobegratefulformyrelationship.Itcouldbealotworse! Money IwanttoworkhardsothatIcanearnthesameamountasmyboss. Beforeheknewit,hewaslaidoff.AtleastIhaveajob,butitcouldchangeanyday.   Theseareonlyasnapshotofsomeoftheexamplesofsocialcomparisonbehaviorsthatwemightdemonstrate.   Contrastvs.Assimilation “Ifyoucompareyourselfwithothers,youmaybecomevainorbitter,foralwaystherewillbegreaterandlesserpersonsthanyourself.” Desiderata Upwardanddownwardsocialcomparisonscanleadtonegativeorpositiveoutcomes.Thedistinctionismorenuancedthanmerelypositiveandnegativeoutcomes,though.Comparisonscanbefurtherclassifiedascontrastiveorassimilative.   Contrastivecomparisons Contrastivecomparisonsfurtheremphasizethedifferencebetweenthecomparedpersonsandus.Forupwardcomparisons,weareseenasmoreinferiortothecomparisonperson,andfordownwardcomparisons,weareconsideredasmoresuperior.   Assimilativecomparisons Assimilativecomparisonsdescribecomparisonswherethecomparedperson’scircumstancescouldeasilybeourown. Upwardassimilativecomparisonsaremotivatingbecausewebelievethatwecanachievethesamelevelofsuccess,whereasdownwardassimilativecomparisonsremindusthatwecouldeasilydoworse. Agoodwaytothinkabouttherelationshipbetweencontrastiveandassimilativecomparisonsisthatcontrastincreasesthedistancebetweenthecomparisonpersonandusandassimilationreducesthegap.   Emotionslinkedtocontrastiveandassimilativeoutcomes Smith(2000)furtherexpandsthisargumentbyarguingthat: (a)Thesecontrastiveandassimilativeoutcomescanresultinpositiveandnegativefeelingsspecifically. (b)Thesefeelingscanbedirectedinwardtowardourselvesoroutwardtothecomparedindividual. Smith(2000)providesanextremelyusefulfigurethatwehavereplicatedbelow. Indownwardsocialcomparisons,thecomparisonperson(the‘other’)alwayshasanoutcomethatweconsiderundesirablesincetheiroutcomeisinferiortoourown. Theemotiontowardthecomparisonpersonthatisevokedthroughthecomparisondiffersforcontrastiveandassimilativeoutcomes.Intheformer,wemightfeelcontemptforthem;inthelatter,wemightfeelpity. Indownwardsocialcomparisons,theoutcomesforuscanbedesirableorundesirable.Contrastiveoutcomesresultindesirableoutcomesforus;wefeelpridebecauseweare‘better.’Assimilativeoutcomesremindusthatwecouldbeinthesamesituationasthecomparison,andthisrealizationinducesfearorworry. Thistheoryexplainswhycancerpatientsfeltafraidwhentheymetothercancerpatientswhowereworseoff;theyhadadopteddownwardassimilativesocialcomparisons. Downwardsocialcomparisons Contrastiveoutcomes Assimilativeoutcomes Outcomes Desirableoutcomeforself Dualfocus Undesirableoutcomeforother Undesirableoutcomeforself Dualfocus Undesirableoutcomeforother Emotions Pride Schadenfreude Contempt/scorn Fear/worry Sympathy Pity   Unlikedownwardsocialcomparison,thecomparisonpersoninupwardsocialcomparisonsalwayshasthedesirableoutcome;wewanttoachievewhattheyhave. Forcontrastiveoutcomes,thedifferencebetweenusandthecomparisonpersonisemphasizedtosuchanextentthatwefeelresentmenttowardthem,andourcurrentstateisundesirable,leadingtofeelingsofdepression. Assimilativeoutcomesareassociatedwithmorepositiveanddesirableemotions.Wefeeladmirationforthecomparisonpersonandoptimismaboutourownstate;wecanachievethesamelevelasthem. Upwardsocialcomparisons Contrastiveoutcomes Assimilativeoutcomes Outcomes Undesirableoutcomeforself Dualfocus Desirableoutcomeforother Desirableoutcomeforself Dualfocus Desirableoutcomeforother Emotions Depression/shame Envy Resentment Optimism Inspiration Admiration     MeasuringSocialComparison:AScale Inearlyresearch,socialcomparisonwasmeasuredusingLikertscalesandopen-endedquestionsinaninterview(Woodetal.,1985). Woodetal.(1985)reportedagroupofpatientswhowerediagnosedwithcancerandaskedthemhowmuchcontacttheyhadwithotherpatients,whethertheycomparedtheircurrentsituationwiththatofotherpeople,andthentoevaluatehowwelltheywerecopingincomparison. Althoughtheauthorswereexpectingevidenceofsocialcomparisonstoarisefromtheclosedquestions,insteadtheyfoundmanyinstancesofspontaneousmentioningofsocialcomparisonsduringtheinterview. Itappearedthattheparticipantswerelesswillingtoopenlydeclareinthequestionnairethattheyengagedinsocialcomparisons,butthisbehaviorwasevidentintheirinterviews. Althoughopen-endedinterviewscanyieldalotofinformation,qualitativedatacanbechallengingtoanalyze.Insuchsituations,theopen-endedinterviewwouldbetranscribedandthencodedbytwoindependentcodersusingalogbook. Anydisagreementsinthecodingwouldneedtoberesolvedbeforecodingcontinued.Althoughdatacollectedinthismannerisextremelyuseful,thereisnodoubtthattheanalysisislaboriousandtimeconsuming. GibbonsandBuunk(1999)havedonethehardworkforusanddevelopedtheIowa-NetherlandsComparisonOrientationMeasure,whichconsistsof11scaleitemsthataskaboutsocialcomparison.Ofthe11items,6ofthequestionsaskaboutability. Forexample: IalwayspayalotofattentiontohowIdothingscomparedtohowothersdothings. Theremainingfiveitemsaskaboutopinions.Forexample: Ialwaysliketoknowwhatothersinasimilarsituationwoulddo. Foreachitem,participantsindicatetheirlevelofagreementonafive-pointscale,rangingfrom‘Idisagreestrongly’to‘Iagreestrongly.’Thescalehashighreliability(rangingbetween.78to.85forvarioussamples),indicatingthatthemeasurementsarestable. Despitethehighreliability,researchersacceptandrecognizethatadmittingmakingsocialcomparisonsisconsideredveryundesirable;forthesereasons,itisprobablyalwaysbettertofollowupanyassessmentwithanopen-endedintervieworquestionstoprobesomeoftheresponsesonthescale(Buunk&Gibbons,2007).   SocialComparisonandDepression Althoughweallengageinsocialcomparisonbehaviors,wemightdosoatvaryingrates.Somepeopleengageincomparisonsmoreoftenthanothers. BuunkandGibbons(2007)arguethatpeoplewithcertainpersonalitytypesaremorelikelytomakesocialcomparisons. Specifically,individualswiththefollowingtraitsaremorelikelytoengageinsocialcomparison(Buunk&Gibbons,2007): Increasedpublicandprivateself-consciousness Moreempathyandsensitivitytowardothers Aninterestinhowotherpeoplefeel Highnarcissism Lowself-esteem Highneuroticism Upwardsocialcomparisonwasthoughttoresultinmorenegativefeelings(e.g.,shame,inferiority);theresearch,however,isequivocal.Upwardsocialcomparisoncanbehelpfulbecauseitallowsforself-enhancement;forexample,wemightfeelmotivatedtoimproveourperformance(Collins,1996). Forpeoplewithdepression,socialcomparisoncanhavemixedeffects.Clinicallydepressedindividualswhoreportedthattheyoftenusedsocialcomparisonsexperienceapositivechangeintheirmoodwhentheirlevelsofaspirationswereeasilyachievable(i.e.,assimilativeupwardsocialcomparison). However,whenthelevelofaspiration/thecomparisonpersonwaschallengingtoachieve(i.e.,contrastivesocialcomparison),thentheyexperiencedanadversechangeintheirmood(Buunk&Brenninkmeijer,2001). Thesefindingssuggestthatthechoiceofcomparisonpersonorlevelofaspirationisimportantforcertainpopulations.Thereisadditionalevidencethatcomparedtoindividualswhoengageinfewersocialcomparisons,individualswhoengageinmoresocialcomparisonsrespondmorenegativelytodownwardsocialcomparisons(e.g.,Buunk,Oldersma,&DeDreu,2001). Theirgreaterresponsetodownwardsocialcomparisonsisnotechoedinupwardsocialcomparisons.Theauthorspositthatthedownwardsocialcomparisonsremindtheparticipantsoftheirownsituation,consequentlyincreasingtheirlevelofunhappiness.   TheLinkBetweenSocialMediaandSelf-Esteem Socialmediaplatforms,suchasTwitter,Facebook,andInstagram,aregoodexamplesofmodern-dayopportunitiesforsocialcomparison. Wecanbrowseourfriends’photographs,readupdatesabouttheirlives,andlearnaboutbigandspecialevents. Socialmediaposts,however,areoverwhelming,andasaresult,weareoftenengaginginupwardsocialcomparisons.Thereissomeevidencethatincreaseduseofsocialmediaisassociatedwithmorenegativefeelings. Oneexplanationisthatweengageinmoreupwardsocialcomparisonsonsocialmediathanwewouldinreallife,whichresultsinfeelingsofinferiorityandenvy.Someevidenceexiststhattheimmediateuseofsocialmediaresultsin: Increaseddepressivesymptoms(Feinsteinetal.,2013) Experienceofdepressiveepisodesthreeweekslater(Feinsteinetal.,2013) Lowerself-esteem(deVries&Kühne,2015;Liuetal.,2017) Lowerbodyimage(deVries&Kühne,2015;Liuetal.,2017) Therelationshipbetweenupwardsocialcomparisononsocialmediaanddepressionismorecomplicatedthanitappears.Thepresenceofoptimismfurthermediatesthisrelationship. Participantswithhighoptimismexperiencedaweakerrelationshipbetweenusingsocialmediaandsymptomsofdepression;optimismbuttressedthemfromtheharmfuleffectsofupwardsocialcomparisononsocialmedia.Forparticipantswithlowoptimism,theadverseeffectsofupwardsocialcomparisonweremorepronounced.Theseindividualsalsoreportedmoreresultantdepressivesymptoms(Liuetal.,2017).   ABetterApproach:Gratitude “Stopcomparingyourselftootherpeople,justchoosetobehappyandliveyourownlife.” RoyT.Bennett,TheLightintheHeart Oneofthechallengesofsocialcomparisontheoryisdecidingwhowe’regoingtocompareourselvesto,especiallysincetheoutcomeofthesocialcomparisondiffersaccordingtothetypeofcomparison(contrastive/assimilative),aswellasourcharacteristics. Thiscanbeespeciallyimportantforpeoplewhoaretransitioningfromonestageoftheirlivestoanotheranddon’tknowwhethertheyareperformingattheoptimallevel. Forexample,studentsstartingcollegemightfeeloverwhelmedwithacademicandsocialexpectations,andgraduatesstartingtheirfirstjobmightalsorelyonsocialcomparisonsasawaytojudgetheirperformance.Formoreonthis,havealookatourpostonPositiveTransitioningAfterSchool. Unfortunately,thesecomparisonsmightbeunrealisticorencourageunsustainablebehaviors.Knowingthis,whatcanwedoinstead?   Developgratitude Oneansweristoadoptanattitudeofgratitude.Thisiseasiersaidthandone.However,thereisampleevidencethatfocusingongratitude,ratherthannegativecircumstances,neutraleventsthatareneitherpositivenornegative,ordownwardsocialcomparisons,leadsto: Increasedpositiveaffect Bettersleep Higherlevelsofoptimism(whichisabufferagainstthenegativeeffectsofdownwardsocialcomparisons) Moreprosocialbehavior(Emmons&McCullough,2003) Todevelopgratitude,followtheprocedureusedbyEmmonsandMcCullough(2003): Makealistoffivethingsthatyouaregratefulforinyourlife. Trynottorepeatitems. Don’tworryiftheitemsarebigorsmall. Dothisexerciseeveryday. Ifyouneedhelpfindingitems,thinkbacktosomethingthathashappenedinthelastweekthatyou’regratefulfor.   Changethecomparisonpersonfromapersontoaperiod Ifyoustruggletorefrainfromsocialcomparisons,trytoreframethesocialcomparisonssothatyoucanexpressgratitude.Also,whentryingtoidentifysomeoneasacomparisonperson,instead,usean‘abstract’comparisonpointliketheonethatAdlerandFagley(2005)usedwhenmeasuringappreciation: “IreflectontheworsttimesinmylifetohelpmerealizehowfortunateIamnow.” Inthisitem,thereferencepointisaprevious,morenegativetimeofone’slife.Usingthiscomparisonpoint,insteadofadifferentperson,mighthelpyoufocusonthepositiveaspectsofyourlifecurrently.   ATake-HomeMessage Socialcomparisonsarenormal.Weallengageinthesebehaviors.Sometimesthesebehaviorsmakeusfeelbetterandcanbemotivating;however,theycanalsoleadtodetrimentalsideeffects. Theresearchaboutsocialcomparisonsiscomplexandequivocal.Still,onepatternseemsclear:theoutcomeofsocialcomparisonshingesonwhoweare,whowearecomparingourselvesto,andwhatwewantfromthecomparison. Therearemanymorebeneficialwaystodevelopself-esteem,andchasingaftersomeoneelse’ssuccessessothatyoucanfeelproudofyourselfishardlyhealthy.Eachofuswasborninauniquesetofcircumstances,inauniqueenvironment,andoursuccessesarenotlimitedbythepeoplewhowecompareourselvesto.Instead,weshouldbegratefulforwhatwehaveachievedandgratefulthatwecancontinuetoachievewhatwedesire. Adoptingthisattitudecanbedifficult,especiallywhenwefeeluncertain,stressedout,orafraid.Butthecomparisonpointinagratitudeexerciseremainsconstantdespiteoursurroundingsandcircumstances,andinthat,wecanfeelcontent. Wehopeyouenjoyedreadingthisarticle.Don’tforgettodownloadourthreePositiveRelationshipsExercisesforfree. 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Notusefulatall Veryuseful 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Submit Sharethisarticle: PleaseletusknowwhatwecanimproveCAPTCHANameThisfieldisforvalidationpurposesandshouldbeleftunchanged. AbouttheAuthor AliciaNortje,Ph.D.isaresearchfellowattheUniversityofCapeTown,wheresheisinvolvedinmultipleprojectsinvestigatingeyewitnessmemoryandfacerecognition.She’shighlyskilledinresearchdesign,dataanalysis,andcriticalthinking.Whenshe’snotworking,sheindulgesinrunningontheroadorthetrails,andenjoyscooking. Comments GloriaOlabisi on3August2020at17:07 Veryinsightfulpiece!Thearticlewaspublishedwhen? Reply NicoleCelestine on4August2020at04:23 HiGloria, Gladyoulikedthepost!Thisarticlewaspublishedonthe7thofJuly,2020. –Nicole|CommunityManager Reply antsar.jssam on9May2020at11:26 Verygood Reply Ha on4May2020at19:47 Hey🙂Thanksforaniceread!Keepitup! 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