The DOI matches its Crossref record; 92 of the 93 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
For better or worse: The impact of upward social comparison on self-evaluations
Abstract
Upward social comparison is generally regarded as ego deflating, yet people often compare themselves with those whose abilities and attributes are better than their own. Upward comparison provides useful information, which may partially account for this behavior. Furthermore, it is proposed that upw
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“Upward social comparison occurs when people compare themselves to those who are better off and although it often triggers negative self-evaluation, resentment, and envy, it can also be motivating and self-enhancing (Collins, 1996).”
From Relative Feedback Increases Disparities in Effort and Performance in Crowdsourcing Contests: Evidence from a Quasi-Experiment on Topcoder (2022) · cites this paper as Collins, 1996
In the citing paper
“Assimilative efforts, on the other side, involve the contrast of a bad present with an attainable positive future and may be enhanced by motivating upward comparisons (see also Carver & Scheier, 1998;Collins, 1996;Wood, 1996;Wrosch & Heckhausen, 1996).”
From The Life-Course Dynamics of Goal Pursuit and Goal Adjustment: A Two-Process Framework (2002) · cites this paper as Collins, 1996
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“upward social comparison, increased or decreased vigilance, and arousal or ease depending on the social context (Collins, 1996; Fiske & Taylor, 2013; Kraus, Horberg, Goetz, & Keltner, 2011 Taylor & Lobel, 1989).”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Collins, R. L.
- Affiliations
- RAND Corporation (US)
- Corresponding author
- Collins, Rebecca L.
- ORCID
- Collins, Rebecca L.
- Venue
- Psychological Bulletin
- Published
- 1996-01
- Volume
- 119
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 51-69
- ISSN
- 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1455
- OpenAlex
- W2165368401
- Cited by
- 1,166
- References
- 93
- Citations by year
- 2026: 53 · 2025: 61 · 2024: 59 · 2023: 95 · 2022: 74 · 2021: 65 · 2020: 68 · 2019: 51 · 2018: 52 · 2017: 50 · 2016: 46 · 2015: 37 · 2014: 38 · 2013: 25 · 2012: 28
- FWCI
- 20.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Keywords
- upward social comparison, self-assessment, self-concept, social comparison theory
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