Chapter 13: Social Comparison

Self-evaluation maintenance (SEM)

A model of social comparison that emphasizes one's closeness to the comparison target, the relative performance of that target person, and the relevance of the comparison behavior to one's self-concept.

Personality

A person's relatively stable patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior.

Social comparison theory

A theory hypothesized by psychologist Leon Festinger (1954). At the core of this theory is the idea that people come to know about themselves—their own abilities, successes, and personality—by comparing themselves with others.

Social category

Any group in which membership is defined by similarities between its members. Examples include religious, ethnic, and athletic groups.

Mastery goals

Goals that are focused primarily on learning, competence, and self-development. These are contrasted with "performance goals" that are focused on the quality of a person's performance. Diego works hard in art class because he wants to learn how to become a better painter, rather than just earning a good grade. What type of goal is Diego using?

Upward comparisons

Making mental comparisons to people who are perceived to be superior on the standard of comparison. Positive effects: Hope, inspiration. Negative effects: Dissatisfaction, envy. Hana is a 10-year-old soccer goalkeeper. When she considers how her skills compare to the older and more advanced goalies, she is using ______

Downward comparison

Making mental comparisons with people who are perceived to be inferior on the standard of comparison. Positive effects: Gratitude. Negative effects: Scorn. When visiting a coworker's house for the first time, Justin thinks to himself, "Well, at least my house isn't THIS dirty!" What type of comparison is Justin using?

Counterfactual thinking

Mentally comparing actual events with fantasies of what might have been possible in alternative scenarios. After her softball team won 2nd place in the tournament, Ebony was upset that they didn't win. She focused on ways she could have played better. What type of thoughts are these?

Local dominance effect

People are generally more influenced by social comparison when that comparison is personally relevant rather than broad and general.

Double-curse explanation

Poor performers lack the necessary competence to accurately assess their own performance on a test, thus overestimating their scores. This finding is known as what?

Individual differences

Psychological traits, abilities, aptitudes and tendencies that vary from person to person.

1. Social norms and opinions of others. 2. Abilities and performance.

Social comparison can be divided into what 2 basic categories?

Fixed mindset

The belief that personal qualities such as intelligence are traits that cannot be developed. People with fixed mindsets often underperform compared to those with "growth mindsets" Carol believes that individuals are born either smart, average, or dumb, and no amount of studying or learning will change that. What's her mindset?

Growth mindset

The belief that personal qualities, such as intelligence, can be developed through effort and practice.

Self-esteem

The feeling of confidence in one's own abilities or worth.

N-effect

The finding that increasing the number of competitors generally decreases one's motivation to compete.

Self-enhancement effect

The finding that people can boost their own self-evaluations by comparing themselves to others who rank lower on a particular comparison standard.

Social comparison

The process by which people understand their own ability or condition by mentally comparing themselves to others.

Proximity

The relative closeness or distance from a given comparison standard. The further from the standard a person is, the less important he or she considers the standard. When a person is closer to the standard he/she is more likely to be competitive.

Dunning-Kruger effect

The tendency for unskilled people to be overconfident in their ability and highly skilled people to underestimate their ability.

Frog Pond Effect

The theory that a person's comparison group can affect their evaluations of themselves. Specifically, people have a tendency to have lower self-evaluations when comparing themselves to higher performing groups. Beth felt she was a great programmer. But, after switching to a large tech company, she wasn't as confident in her abilities. This phenomenon is known as what?

1. The performance dimension has to be relevant to the self. 2. The similarity of the other person.

What are the factors that determine whether people will engage in social comparison?