Lecture 7 - Social comparisons Flashcards
What are social comparisons?
COMPARISONS W OTHER PPL AB SOMETHING
we make social comparisons when objective standards of comparison are lacking
why do we make social comparisons?
due to the need to accurately self-evaluate and reduce uncertainty
When do we make social comparisons?
When there is no objective standard (consider social norms and opinions of forms to inform our own self-evaluation)
When there is uncertainty about our abilities and performance (self-evaluate by comparisons with others)
Who do we compare ourselves to?
On Relevance and Similarity
-Compare ourselves to others in a dimension that is important or relevant to self
-Compare ourselves to ppl who are similar (in terms of performance / personal characteristics)
What are the 2 comparison directions?
Upward social comparisons
Downward social comparisons
What is upward social comparison?
Involve comparisons to others who are better than you in some way (eg skill)
What can upward social comparisons help with on dimensions?
Inspiration on dimensions that are not self-relevant or threatening to self-evaluation
What is a consequence of upward social comparisons?
Can reduce our self esteem
What are downward social comparisons?
Involve comparisons to others who are doing worse in a particular domain (eg skill)
What do downward social comparisons help with?
Boost own self-evaluations, protect wellbeing
What is a negative or a consequence of making a downward social comparison?
Can lead to feelings of scorn (lead to disdain on someone)
What would an upward social comparison cause?
Self - improvement motives
What would the target of self -regulation be with an upward social comparison?
Future behaviour - eg more practice to become a better singer-songwriter
What would a downward social comparison affect?
Affect improvement motives
What would the target of self- regulation be with a downward social comparison?
Immediate affective state - feel better about yourself
but doesnt have an affect on your future behaviour
What can a consequence of downward / upward social comparison also depend on?
The counterfactual
“what might have been”
Downward comparison with a counterfactual of worse outcome vs Upward comparison with a counterfactual of a better missed outcome
What are the 4 functions of social comparisons?
KEIC
- Self - knowledge
- Self- enhancement
- Self- improvement
- Social comparison
What is self-knowledge?
To reduce uncertainty about the self and to understand ourselves
Who do we compare ourselves to in terms of self-knowledge?
Proxy Model of Social Comparison
-We performed similarity to them in the past on a comparable task
-The proxy is known to have put in maximal effort on the task
What is self-enhancement?
Downward social comparisons to boost well being and maintain positive sense of self
Who tend to use self enhancement social comparisons?
People who have
Low self esteem
Are feeling threatened
Cancer patients undergoing treatment make downward social comparisons
What is Self-Improvement?
Upward social comparisons to learn new skills, improve performance
Who do you make social comparisons to with self-improvement?
Provides an example of what to aim for
Consistent with Social Learning Theories
What are the benefits of having social connections?
Support social coordination and building intimate connections with others
What do social connections help with?
Helps build social bonds among new friends
Solidify connections among close others
What is highly conductive to social comparisons and why?
Social media
Frequent social media usage often believe other people are happier and have better lives
Increased social media use ^ social comparisons
What high self esteem cause?
self improvement motive producing greater positive affect
What can having low self esteem cause?
Self-enhancement motive producing greater positive affect
