Social comparison theory encompasses a rich and complex array of interpersonal motivations, processes, and outcomes. A theory of social comparison processes center for human science. Festinger based his theory on nine hypotheses see table 4. Generally speaking, the social comparison theory explains how individuals evaluate their opinion and desires by comparing themselves to others. The social comparison theory was proposed by the social psychologist leon festinger in 1954. Social comparison theory assumes that people tend to evaluate their successes, failures and opinions in relation to others festinger, 1954. However, in the three decades since the publication of this work, social comparison theory has evolved in several ways. Students were urged to cooperate in these interviews by being completely and honest. Social comparison theory was founded by leon festinger, a social psychologist, in the 1950s. Although social comparison theory has been related in the past to work on social cognition e. Social comparison theory greenwood major reference. When psychologists think of social comparison theory, they initially recall leon festingers classic paper on a theory of social comparison processes. This is known as the principle of cognitive consistency.
He is also very wellknown for developing social theory for the proximity effect. While social comparison has been given only modest attention in the networks literature, it is a ubiquitous feature of social life as this volume shows, with widereaching implications for decision making and behavior. What is social comparison theory and how does it affect. Carlsmith is the classic study on reprinted from journal of abnormal and social psychology, 58. In 1954, social psychologist leon festinger popularized socialcomparison theory, which argues that we have an intrinsic desire to assess our progress by comparing ourselves to 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. Leon festinger 8 may 1919 11 february 1989 was an american social psychologist, perhaps best known for cognitive dissonance and social comparison theory. 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. A look at facebook and twitter abstract recent attention has focused on the tendency for social media, namely facebook and its news feed, to promote unfavorable social comparisons, or envy. Born on 8 th may, 1919, he was the pioneer of social comparison and cognitive dissonance theory. That is, the theory was elaborated primarily as a social one, such that the need for selfevaluation under conditions of information ambiguity leads people to.
Festinger developed social comparison theory in the heyday of group dyna mics, long before the self, attributions, heuristics, and other cognitive mechanisms captured researche rs attention. All books are in clear copy here, and all files are secure so dont worry about it. Such comparisons typically occur within groups and in facetoface situations with similar others. In line with festingers 1954 theory, comparisons have stronger effects if they are on novel dimensions andor with localinvivo targets. Although festingers unidirectional drive upward recognized individuals interest in selfimprovement, few studies have ex amined its role in social comparison. On balance, it seems to us that this proposal should be rejected on two grounds. Contrary to the original theory or subsequent research, a the individual is not always an unbiased selfevaluator but may seek many goals through social comparison. Social comparison theory asserts that individuals are motivated to evaluate themselves with accuracy. A theory of social comparison processes, retrieved september 12, 2007, from hum. Over 100 journal articles on social comparison have appeared.
The following article by leon festinger and james m. Leon festingers social comparison theory the psychology. Theory and research concerning social comparisons of. This may occur with reference to a physical reality. Pdf a theory of social comparison processes semantic. He has the honor of establishing the experimentation techniques in social psychology to an advanced level. Social comparison theory states that individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how they stack up against others. Pengaruh self esteem, social comparison, thin ideal internalization, dan rasa syukur terhadap body. She attracted a group of followers who left jobs, schools, and spouses and. Download a theory of social comparison processes leon festinger book pdf free download link or read online here in pdf. In general, social psychologists, always looking for the next great theory, seemed to have shelved this book and its concepts within a couple of decades after it came out in 1957 see leon festingers comments 30 years later in appendix b of cognitive dissonance progress on a pivotal theory in social.
In 1954, festinger proposed a theory of social comparison based on this insight. Festinger defined two types of comparisons upward comparisons and downward comparisons. When we make what he calls upward comparisons, we measure ourselves against people to whom we feel inferior. At the university of minnesota, festinger developed social comparison theory, his second major contribution to social psychology. A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger, 1954. Social comparison and the idealized images of advertising. Toward a psychological, social, and material contextualization of human choice behavior. Wish, expectation and group standards as factors influencing level of aspiration,journal of abnormal and social psychology, 1942, 37, 184200. Social comparison theory festinger, 1954 basically posits that in the absence of objective criteria to evaluate our opinions and abilities, there is a drive to seek information from comparison to others. Pdf a theory of social comparison processes semantic scholar. Leon festinger was a wellknown american social psychologist. 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. Festinger and carlsmith cognitive dissonancecognitive consequences of forced compliance. 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.
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. Leon festinger was a 20th century psychologist who developed the theories of cognitive dissonance and social comparison. 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. Deutsch and gerard 1955 defined normative social influence as influence to conform to the. Ideas, values, and attitudes are measured by comparing ourselves to others to obtain an accurate sense of self.
In 1951 festinger moved to a tenuretrack position at the university of minnesota, where schachter was already on the faculty. Thinking about or priming similarity before conducting a comparison lessens this effect, largely in line with current accounts. Social comparison theory in psychology verywell mind. Article information, pdf download for a theory of social comparison processes, open. 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. In this paper we shall present a further development of a previously published theory concerning opinion influence processes in social groups 7. A central feature of festingers 1954 original proposal concerned the implications that social comparison processes have for interpersonal interaction. Media use, social comparison, cognitive dissonance and. A lot of earlier research had impact on festingers 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. This work is a clearly stated theory on how humans think, decide, and defend their decisions. Informal social communication theory was about the power of the group over the person. Leon festinger leon festinger cognitive dissonance. Festingers 1957 cognitive dissonance theory suggests that we have an inner drive to hold all our attitudes and behavior in harmony and avoid disharmony or dissonance.
People sometimes compare themselves to others as a way of. Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal. Both before and after festingers original set of propositions about our drive to evaluate the self in comparison to similar others, many other theorists have provided nuances and updates. A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger. These theories continue to play a role in contemporary psychology. Festingers social comparison theory dealt with comparison. Keech, reported receiving messages from extraterrestrial aliens that the world would end in a great flood on a specific date.
In this paper we shall present a further development of a previously published theory concerning. Social comparison theory received little attention after its original publication. When there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors dissonance, something must change to eliminate the. Social comparison theory an overview sciencedirect topics. Plato spoke of selfunderstanding and absolute standards. Festingers influential social comparison theory can cognitkva viewed as an extension of his prior theory related to the reliance on social reality for evaluating attitudes and opinions to the realm disojancia abilities. According to festingers theory of social comparison people gain selfknowledge and selfawareness by comparing themselves to others. The social comparison theory was developed by social psychologist leon festinger. People prefer to compare themselves to others in a close proximity such as coworkers, friends, family members, etc. While at the university of minnesota, festinger read about a cult that believed that the end of the world was at hand. Social comparison festinger 1954 proposed that people are drawn into habits of mental comparisons of alternatives mainly because they are driven by the need for selfevaluation. The history of festingers social comparison theory is traced from its publication in 1954 to its celebration at the apa convention in 1984. Forced compliance theory is a paradigm that is closely related to cognitive dissonance theory. We extend this work in a survey that looks at three main questions.
Read online a theory of social comparison processes leon festinger book pdf free download link book now. Festingers social comparison theory psychology essay. Although interest in the theory has waxed and waned since then goethals, 1986b, social comparison research has enjoyed a resurgence recently. 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.