The central tenets of the theory hold that we compare ourselves with those who are similar in ability or opinion for the purposes of selfevaluation. This theory sets forth several principles with implications for both the. The theory is a term referring to the process through which people come to know themselves by evaluating their own attitudes, abilities, and beliefs in comparison with others cherry, n. Apr 08, 2017 the social comparison theory was developed by social psychologist leon festinger.
There are many constructs that dont have objective. The theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others in order to reduce uncertainty in these. All books are in clear copy here, and all files are secure so dont worry about it. How social neuroscience can inform theories of social comparison jillian k. Social comparison processes as a prominent theory of motivational selfregulation bridging psychological literatures, heckhausen, wrosch, and schulzs 2010 motivational theory of lifespan development.
According to festinger s theory of social comparison people gain selfknowledge and selfawareness by comparing themselves to others. Social comparison theory assumes that people tend to evaluate their successes, failures and opinions in relation to others festinger, 1954. Why is the motivation of nonregular employees not low from. Festingers social comparison theory psychology essay. X harvard university 124 mount auburn street, suite 520n, cambridge, ma 028 this work is licensed under a creative commons attribution 3. Jun 11, 2017 leon festinger mentioned his hypotheses in his book entitled social comparison processes that gives substantial exploration of his theory. Feb 21, 2014 the social comparison theory was proposed by the social psychologist leon festinger in 1954.
The theory predicts that to the extent that objective, nonsocial means are not. At the university of minnesota, festinger developed social comparison theory, his second major contribution to social psychology. Festinger l 1954 a theory of social comparison processes. Social comparison research and theory, by tradition, stress individualistic, psychological. The old one states that members of a particular group would want to be parallel with each other because a uniform agreement must be made so that the group is able to come up with a common decision.
Download a theory of social comparison processes leon festinger book pdf free download link or read online here in pdf. One influential social psychological framework that provides a useful framework for thinking about possible peer effects is leon festingers theory of social comparison processes festinger, 1954. Social comparison processes and unethical behavior in organizations by jooa julia lee and francesca gino edmond j. As earlier mentioned, social comparison theory festinger, 1954 posits that individuals have a natural drive to compare their own attributes and abilities with the abilities and attributes of others.
Social comparison theory festinger was the first to coin the term social comparison however, the general concepts can be traced back to aristotle and plato. Social comparison theory why dont we use objective criteria. Festinger defined two types of comparisons upward comparisons and downward comparisons. In this paper we shall present a further development of a previously published theory concerning opinion influence processes in social groups 7. Results indicate that fashion involvement is motivated by social comparison and is a function of exposure to fashion media, cognitive dissonance reduction and peer influence.
Social comparison processes in the experience of personal. In 1954, festinger extended his theory of social comparison processes to include evaluation of abilities as well as opinions. This paper furthers festinger s views on group influences of opinions and applies it to abilities as well. According to the theory of social comparison processes, people have the desire to accurately evaluate their own opinions. Many criticisms arose regarding festingers similarity hypothesis. In this paper we shall present a further development of a previously published theory concerning. The basic assumption underlying festinger s theory is that within the human organism exists a drive to evaluate opinions and abilities.
Later published as social comparison processes in organizations. Selection studies offering two options up or down showed a strong preference. Social comparison theory, based on ones drive for selfevaluation, was first coined by leon festinger 1954. A theory of social comparison processes, retrieved september 12, 2007, from hum. Derivation c when a discrepancy exists with respect to opinions or. Leon festinger, 1954 theory of social comparison wild. A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger, 1954. Festinger 1954 used the theory to explain shifts in members opinions. Social comparison festinger, 1954 can be defined as the process of thinking about information about one or more other people in relation to the self wood, 1996. Pdf a theory of social comparison processes semantic scholar. This study applies the social comparison theory to examine the effects of adolescents engagement in comparison with friends and celebrities on social network sites snss on a their body image d. A theory of social comparison processes center for human science.
Festinger argued that humans have a drive to evaluate their opinions and abilities. Social comparison theory states that individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how they stack up against others. Festinger l 1954 a theory of social comparison process human relations 7 2 from psyc 295 at azusa pacific university. Aug 31, 2000 comparison of objects, events, and situations is integral to judgment. Participants who watched the film with the annoying background noise did not like it any less than those who saw the film without the distracting noise however most reported that the noise had lowered their ratings of the film.
Social comparison theory and drive for self evaluation. An increase in the importance of an ability or an opinion, or an increase in its relevance to immediate behavior, will increase the pressure toward reducing dicrepancies concerning that opinion or ablility. Two studies were performed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Source for information on social comparison processes. Pdf social comparison and influence in groups researchgate. Teori perbandingan sosial festinger 1950, 1954 menyebutkanbahwateori perbandingansosial prosessalingmempengaruhi. This study examined the implications for social comparison theory of the proposition that women have lower selfconfidence than men when there is a socially defined standard of performance. Festinger developed social comparison theory in the heyday of group dyna mics.
Fifty years ago, festinger 1954 published a theory of social comparison. A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger. Study of motivation involving selfannounced goals of fifth grade children and the concept of level of aspiration, journal of social psychology, 1939, 10, 209. The comparison trap you know those people who have more than youmoney, acclaim, looks, whatever. There is clear evidence that reflection processes do produce emotions, especially when the other person outperforms the self brewer. Social comparison social neuroscience status power. As earlier mentioned, social comparison theory festinger, 1954 posits that individuals have a natural drive to compare their own attributes and abilities with the abilities and attributes. Early research in social psychology on level of aspiration and on reference groups contributed to leon festingers social comparison theory, which he proposed in 1954. This further development has enabled us to extend the theory to deal with other areas, in addition to opinion formation, in which social comparison is important.
This paper furthers festingers views on group influences of opinions and applies it to abilities as well. Read online a theory of social comparison processes leon festinger book pdf free download link book now. Social comparison theory, initially proposed by social psychologist leon festinger in 1954, centers on the belief that there is a drive within individuals to gain accurate selfevaluations. Leon festingers 1954 paper, a theory of social comparison processes, still serves as the basic formulation, although there have been many additions and revisions. Comparison process an overview sciencedirect topics. A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger pdf. Fiske princeton university, usa article info article history. People sometimes compare themselves to others as a. Keeping up with the joneses affects perceptions of distributive justice pdf. Social reflection processes represent an important and innovative broadening of social comparison theory s initial casting by festinger 1954. After four decades of research, the topic of social comparison is more popular than ever. People make all kinds of judgments about themselves, and one of the key ways that we do this is through social comparison, or analyzing the self in relation to others. His first hypothesis states that there exist, in the human organism, a drive to evaluate his opinions and abilities.
Received 14 august 20 received in revised form 12 january 2014 accepted 17 january 2014 available online 30 january 2014 keywords. When psychologists think of social comparison theory, they initially recall leon festingers classic paper on a theory of social comparison processes. The original formulation of social comparison theory festinger 1954 demonstrated how, in the absence of objective standards, individuals use other people to fulfill their informational needs to evaluate their own opinions and abilities. Plato spoke of selfunderstanding and absolute standards. Social comparison theory an overview sciencedirect topics. In 1951 festinger moved to a tenuretrack position at the university of minnesota, where schachter was already on the faculty. Social comparison theory was first proposed in 1954 by psychologist leon festinger and suggested that people have an innate drive to evaluate themselves, often in comparison to others. Abstract we systematically analyze the role of social comparison processes in organizations. Motivation and emotionbook2014social comparison and. Social comparison theory, initially proposed by social psychologist leon festinger in 1954. Informal social communication theory was about the power of the group over the person. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 102, 2241. Media use, social comparison, cognitive dissonance and peer.
Social comparison and peer effects at an elite college george. Leon festinger 1954 different types of comparison we use objective criteria when available o how tall am i how much do i weigh how fast did i run. Specifically, we describe how social comparison processes have been used to explain six key areas of. Today, thirtyfive social and cognitive psychologists who share a.
According to social comparison theory festinger, 1954, humans evaluate abilities and opinions by comparison to others when objective, nonsocial means of comparison are not available. A lot of earlier research had impact on festinger s formulation of the social comparison theory, and these include studies on social groups, group dynamics, social communication, conformity and the autokinetic effect, compliant behavior, level of aspiration, and independence and dependence in response to unanimous majority. The intellectual parent of the comparison process comes from social comparison theory e. To experience the sense of unfairness and resentment that characterizes personal relative deprivation, a person must make a comparison and decide that she does not have what she should have crosby, 1976. Introspective theory was that the sign noise would lower peoples evaluation of the film they were watching and people would not realize the noise was responsible for. Festinger l 1954 a theory of social comparison process. How social neuroscience can inform theories of social comparison. The influence process in the presence of extreme deviates. Document resume morin, stephen f jones, reginald l.
Deutsch and krauss argued that people actually seek out dissimilar others in their comparisons maintaining that this is important for providing valuable selfknowledge, as demonstrated in research. Festinger argued that it is necessary for people to know what they are capable of doing and to hold correct opinions about the world. Access to society journal content varies across our titles. The spike of envy they trigger is natural, and social media is primed to amp it up. Leon festingers social comparison theory the psychology. This may occur with reference to a physical reality. In cases where the criterion is unambiguous and can be clearly ordered, this furnishes an objective reality for the evaluation of ones ability so that it depends less on the opinions of other persons and depends more on actual comparison of ones performance with the performance of others. If you have access to a journal via a society or association membership, please browse to your society journal, select an article to view, and follow the instructions in this box. Festinger 1954s discussion of the theory of social comparison processes was the first study to substantially consider the act of comparing oneself to others. People prefer to compare themselves to others in a close proximity such as coworkers, friends, family members, etc.
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