Cited by 2,705Social and Intergroup PsychologyEmotions and Moral BehaviorPsychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction

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Downward comparison principles in social psychology

Wills, Thomas A.·1981·Psychological Bulletin

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Abstract

The literature of social psychology contains a number of phenomena that appear to be paradoxical. For example, persons who face a threatening experience prefer to affiliate with threatened others rather than with nonthreatened others (Schachter, 1959), and persons in groups in which reward is equally distributed are less satisfied compared with persons in groups that include one particularly unfortunate member (Brickman, 1975). The purpose of this article is to show that these phenomena are best construed as social comparison processes and that various phenomena derive from one basic process termed downward comparison; the essence of this process is that persons can enhance their own subjective well-being by comparing themselves with a less fortunate other. In this article I show that downward comparison is a process evoked by negative affect, that there is considerable evidence for self-enhancing comparison processes, and that downward comparison effects are involved in several areas of social-psycho logical research.

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“Because autonomous participation includes downward comparisons to increase subjective well-being and to reduce stress (Wills, 1981), the result would be greater liking for the ingroup and dislike for the outgroup—greater affective polarisation.”
Background
Caution with competitive gamification in medical education: unexpected results of a randomised cross-over study
Kirsch, J., & Spreckelsen, C. (2023) · BMC Medical Education · doi:10.1186/s12909-023-04258-5 · Cited by 37
“Comparing oneself to those who seem inferior (downward comparison) can enhance subjective well-being [27], especially when oneself is in an unfavourable situation or suffers from depression [28].”
Background
After every darkness is light: Resilient Afghan women coping with violence and immigration.
Welsh, E. A., & Brodsky, A. E. (2010) · Asian American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0020922 · Cited by 38
Idealized Female Beauty, Social Comparisons, and Awareness Intervention Material
Arendt, F., Peter, C., & Beck, J. (2016) · Journal of Media Psychology Theories Methods and Applications · doi:10.1027/1864-1105/a000181 · Cited by 35
“Some authors argued, however, that in certain situations the need for a positive (in contrast to an accurate) self-evaluation could predominate (Hakmiller, 1966; Wills, 1981).”
Background
Where your heart belongs to shapes how you feel about yourself: Migration, social comparison and subjective well‐being in China
Liu, Y., Pan, Z., Liu, Y., Chen, H., & Li, Z. (2020) · Population Space and Place · doi:10.1002/psp.2336 · Cited by 30
Family Socioeconomic Status, Educational Expectations, and Academic Achievement Among Chinese Rural-to-Urban Migrant Adolescents: The Protective Role of Subjective Socioeconomic Status
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“Adolescents might form their subjective SES through upward (Collins, 1996) or downward social comparison (Wills, 1981) by relying on different reference standards, generating a difference in their subjective SES.”
Background
This is an Insta-vention! Exploring Cognitive Countermeasures to Reduce Negative Consequences of Social Comparisons on Instagram
Weber, S., Messingschlager, T. V., & Stein, J. (2021) · Media Psychology · doi:10.1080/15213269.2021.1968440 · Cited by 31
“Social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954; Wills, 1981) postulates that social comparisons may generally go in two directions.”
Background
‘What I Really Needed Was the Truth’. Exploring the Information Needs of People with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Grieve, S., Adams, J., & McCabe, C. (2015) · Musculoskeletal Care · doi:10.1002/msc.1107 · Cited by 30
Exploring the Asymmetrical Effects of Gender Tokenism on Supervisor–Subordinate Relationships
Ryan, K. M., King, E. B., Adis, C., Gulick, L. M. V., Peddie, C. I., & Hargraves, R. (2012) · Journal of Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2012.01025.x · Cited by 30
“Still the same and better off than others?”: social and temporal comparisons in old age
Ferring, D., & Hoffmann, M. (2007) · European Journal of Ageing · doi:10.1007/s10433-007-0045-5 · Cited by 30
Happy by What Standard? The Role of Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Comparisons in Ratings of Happiness
Steffel, M., & Oppenheimer, D. M. (2008) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-008-9289-5 · Cited by 29
Turning up the contrast: Self-enhancement motives prompt egocentric contrast effects in social judgments.
Beauregard, K. S., & Dunning, D. A. (1998) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.74.3.606 · Cited by 149
Different Types of Screen Behavior and Depression in Children and Adolescents
Kidokoro, T., Shikano, A., Tanaka, R., Tanabe, K., Imai, N., & Noi, S. (2022) · Frontiers in Pediatrics · doi:10.3389/fped.2021.822603 · Cited by 26

Authors: Wills, T. A.
Corresponding author: Wills, Thomas A.
ORCID: Wills, Thomas A.
Venue: Psychological Bulletin
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 1981-09
Volume: 90
Issue: 2
Pages: 245-271
ISSN: 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
1939-1455
DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.90.2.245
OpenAlex: W2156796359
Semantic Scholar: 93e1ba7c88523e39e841218830a09828e97b5ffa
Cited by: 2,705
References: 97
Citations by year: 2026: 74 · 2025: 92 · 2024: 99 · 2023: 98 · 2022: 101 · 2021: 121 · 2020: 121 · 2019: 106 · 2018: 76 · 2017: 94 · 2016: 82 · 2015: 87 · 2014: 105 · 2013: 82 · 2012: 79
FWCI: 36.70
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
Keywords: downward social comparison, self-enhancement, subjective well-being, negative affect

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Downward comparison principles in social psychology

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