Cited by 698Social and Intergroup PsychologyEmotions and Moral BehaviorPsychometric Methodologies and Testing

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What is Social Comparison and How Should We Study it?

Wood, Joanne V.·1996·Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

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Abstract

Despite renewed vigor in the social comparison literature, little attention has been paid to methods of studying social comparison. This article examines frequently used measures and procedures in social comparison research. The question of whether a method truly captures social comparison requires a clear understanding of what social comparison is; hence a definition of social comparison is proposed, multiple ancillary processes in social comparison are identified, and definitional controversies are addressed. Then, methods are examined for how strongly they imply social comparison and for whether they capture social comparisons as they would occur naturally. It is argued that some methods may not truly capture social comparison, that some methods may be too vulnerable to alternative interpretations to be useful, and that some methods may paint an inaccurate picture of social comparison.

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Authors: Wood, J. V.
Affiliations: University of Waterloo (CA)
Corresponding author: Wood, Joanne V.
ORCID: Wood, Joanne V.
Venue: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 1996-05
Volume: 22
Issue: 5
Pages: 520-537
ISSN: 0146-1672 (ISSN-L)
1552-7433
DOI: 10.1177/0146167296225009
OpenAlex: W2108334011
Semantic Scholar: 340057e64e6beda3379f9c5a28abd0032f2a83ca
Cited by: 697
References: 87
Citations by year: 2026: 36 · 2025: 53 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 64 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 32 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 26
FWCI: 30.04
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
Keywords: social comparison, social comparison theory, methodological validity

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What is Social Comparison and How Should We Study it?

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