Serving Self-Relevant Goals Through Social Comparison

Abstract

People compare themselves with others for a variety of reasons; graduate students may determine their relative standing in classes so as to evaluate their capabilities; aspiring ballet dancers may emulate the techniques of principal dancers; cancer patients may remind themselves of others whose circumstances are worse so as to lift their own spirits. Although Festinger (1954) proposed his theory of social comparison as a theory of opinion and ability evaluation, researchers recognized early in the history of social comparison that comparisons may serve other goals. People may compare themselves with others to evaluate their emotions (Schachter, 1959), their personality traits (Thornton & Arrowood, 1966), and ultimately their selves, rather than their specific attributes. As Singer (1966) said, “When a person asks “How much X do I have?” he is also asking “What sort of person am I for possessing that much X?” (p. 105).