A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger. Since this theory model focuses greatly on only a portion of an individual and their personality, their own self as a. Social comparison pervades our interactions with others, informing us of our standing and motivating improvement, but producing negative emotional and behavioral consequences that can harm relationships and lead to poor health outcomes. Drawing on concepts from festingers social comparison theory, i hypothesize that when considering a run for office, potential female candidates compare themselves to the women already in office. This is chapter one of leon festinger, a theory of cognitive dissonance. Evidence from eye movements jens blechert,phd, till nickert,dipl psych,detlef caffier,dipl mat, and brunna tuschencaffier,phd objective. Does social media enhance leon festingers social comparison. Festingers influential social comparison theory can cognitkva viewed as an extension of his prior theory related. He has the honor of establishing the experimentation techniques in social psychology to an advanced level. According to festingers social comparison theory, people often form judgments about their traits and abilities by comparing themselves with others. People sometimes compare themselves to others as a way of. Exercise, social comparison, perceived fitness, mood, exertion. 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.
This study focused on the effect of employees social comparison orientation on job performance, and investigated 255 employees from enterprises and institutions in hebei, guangdong and some other provinces. 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. A theory of social comparison processes center for human science. Sep 15, 2009 this was the signature look of a girl considered attractive and worthwhile, and an important comparison dimension for many girls. Here are presented all the main aspects of the theory. Pdf social comparisons comparisons between the self and others are a. Dissonance theory posits that consumers make some kind of cognitive comparison between expectations about the product and the perceived product performance. To determine the role of social comparison for body dissatisfaction in bulimia nervosa bn. Social comparison the comparative nature of selfviews means that people must consult the social world to gain selfknowledge.
This paper furthers festingers views on group influences of opinions and applies it to abilities as well. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Frontiers the influence of social comparison and peer group. In contrast, social comparison theory emphasized how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities against those of others. Write about the interaction between affect and social comparison. Explaining theories of interpersonal communication 51 03dainton. There is no original or primary gender a drag imitates, but gender is a kind of. Although the empirical literature in these areas is well developed,a general formal theory of attitude change, however,does not exist. 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. Social comparison and its relation to body dissatisfaction in bulimia nervosa. Festinger began his theory of social comparison with the postulate that people have a drive to evaluate their abilities hypothesis i. According to festinger s theory of social comparison people gain selfknowledge and selfawareness by comparing themselves to others.
Wood state university of new york at stony brook social comparison theory has evolved considerably since festinger 1954 originally proposed it. Festinger argued that humans have a drive to evaluate their opinions and abilities. Sep 23, 2019 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. In this theory, it simply asserts that the process in which people learn about themselves by comparing themselves to other members of society. Jun 11, 2017 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. Social comparison theory assumes that people tend to evaluate their successes, failures and opinions in relation to others festinger, 1954. The influence of social comparison and peer group size on. Leon festinger was the first psychologist to study cognitive dissonance around the 1950s, and his works, such as books and experiments, helped to shed light on the ways in which humans act to decrease cognitive dissonance. His theories and research are credited with renouncing the previously dominant behaviorist view of social psychology by demonstrating the inadequacy of stimulusresponse conditioning accounts of human behavior. Since then, the process of social comparison has been studied extensively. In this paper we shall present a further development of a previously published theory concerning. 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 festinger s comments 30 years later in appendix b of cognitive dissonance progress on a pivotal theory in social. Leon festinger 8 may 1919 11 february 1989 was an american social psychologist, perhaps best known for cognitive dissonance and social comparison theory. Festinger further proposed that comparing the self with others can result in weights of uniformity.
A cognitive dissonance approach avidit acharya, stanford university matthew blackwell, harvard university maya sen, harvard university the standard approach in positive political theory posits that action choices are the consequences of preferences. Theory and research concerning social comparisons of. Assimilation theory is based on festingers 1957 dissonance theory. According to festingers social comparison theory people often. Many criticisms arose regarding festingers similarity hypothesis. He suggested that people ha a drive d to evaluate his opil. In a time of abundant information, the risk of picking up only those data that support our previous convictions is always there. Festingers social comparison theory dealt with comparison within groups and other facetoface comparisons. What are some potential consequences or faults of the importance of status and the resulting competition in todays society. In this essay we are asked to look at festingers social comparison theory and its findings, applications, methodologies and theoretical approaches since its birth. Effects of perceived fitness level of exercise partner on.
A social comparison approach to organizational choice under what circumstances does social information affect choices. Festingers social comparison theory festingers social comparison theory is a successor of his theory of informal. 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. This work is a clearly stated theory on how humans think, decide, and defend their decisions. Festingers social comparison theory suggests that we have a drive to assess our opinions and abilities, and that we do this by comparing ourselves to others. Social comparison theory, based on ones drive for selfevaluation, was first coined by leon festinger 1954. A firefighter squad, where the fire captain makes all the decisions unilaterally and gives advice to those who serve in the squad, is an example of aan. The social comparison theory was developed by social psychologist leon festinger. This chapter is a reminder of social comparison theory s foundations in group processes rather than an extension of social comparison to groups. Xiao 148 nions and abilities by compari ng respectively with others 3. These theories continue to play a role in contemporary psychology.
Social comparison theory and drive for self evaluation. Evidence from a field experiment we conducted a randomized field experiment to examine how workers respond to wage cuts, and whether their response depends on the wages paid to coworkers. A social and psychological study of a modern group that predicted the destruction of the world is a classic work of social psychology by leon festinger, henry riecken, and stanley schachter published in 1956, which studied a small ufo religion in chicago called the seekers that believed in an imminent apocalypse and its coping mechanisms after the event did not occur. Cognitive dissonance theory has been known to play out in several ways. Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal attributes joanne v. This states that people evaluate their own abilities and attitude relative to other peoples. This insight forms the heart of festingers social comparison theory festinger, 1954. Festinger defined two types of comparisons upward comparisons and downward comparisons. Social comparison universitas pendidikan indonesia. The influence of social comparison on job performance. It has been said by researchers that in the social cognitive theory, its perspective can ignore the internal and unconscious thought processes and emotions.
The theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others in order to reduce uncertainty in these. This paper further s festinger s views on group influences of opinions and applies it to abilities as well. A reason for this gap in understanding is the very different focus of the decision making under risk and social preference literatures. 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. According to festingers social comparison theory, people. Consistent with festinger s discussions, the structure of social comparison orientation is made up of two factors. Kemampuan ability dalam perbandingan kemampuan terdapat dorongan searah menuju keadaan yang lebih baik atau kemampuan yang lebih tinggi. Social comparison theory states that individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how they stack up against others. A recent test of social information processing theory showed little effect of anonymous social cues. Article information, pdf download for a theory of social comparison. Social comparison and its relation to body dissatisfaction. I posit a different explanationintimidating exemplars theory.
According to festingers social comparison theory people. Social comparison is an aspect of social perception, and has developed from a theory initially proposed by social psychologist leon festinger in 1954. At the university of minnesota, festinger developed social comparison theory, his second major contribution to social psychology. Those two beliefs are not related to each other but if one of them became dissonant with the other then according to the cognitive dissonance theory. User hailley marie fargo has updated does social media enhance leon festingers social comparison theory. Social comparison theory why dont we use objective criteria. The habit of comparing oneself with others can influence peoples behavior in workplace and daily lives.
A theory of social comparison processes, retrieved september 12, 2007, from hum. What other theories could maybe relate back to this theory. Social comparison theory the theory that i had chosen to discuss and research about would happen to be the social comparison theory. Leon festinger was a 20th century psychologist who developed the theories of cognitive dissonance and social comparison. Leon festingers social comparison theory the psychology. People prefer to compare themselves to others in a close proximity such as coworkers, friends, family members, etc. Festingers social comparison theory by sara longmire on prezi. Access to society journal content varies across our titles. Much of festingers early work focused on individuals comparing their. Leon festinger, born may 8, 1919, brooklyn, new york, u.
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. Social comparison and the idealized images of advertising. Festingers social comparison theory festingers social comparison. Born on 8 th may, 1919, he was the pioneer of social comparison and cognitive dissonance theory. Social comparison theory has evolved considerably since festinger 1954 originally proposed it. Key concepts hegemonic masculinity patriarchal dividend. Cognitive dissonance was first investigated by leon festinger, arising out of a participant observation study of a cult which believed that the earth was going to be destroyed by a flood, and what happened to its members particularly the really committed ones who had given up their homes and jobs to work for the cult when the flood did not. 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. From this grant, he was able to write his first document on the social comparison theory and published it in the journal of human relations in 1954. We are asked to illustrate our understandings with reference to literature. Festinger s see record 195502305001 theory of social comparison by means of a metatheoretical device, conceptual translation, a semantic algorithm that consists of an informal dictionary and a set of rewriting rules. 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. A social and psychological study of a modern group that predicted the destruction of the world is a 1956 classic book in social psychology by leon festinger, henry riecken, and stanley schachter about a ufo cult that believes the end of the world is at hand. The societal pressures to wear certain clothes and look a certain way did indeed increase the group uniformity at eagan high school, which is one of festingers hypotheses about the social comparison theory.
Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal. In this paper we shall present a further development of a previously published theory concerning opinion influence processes in social. This study explores the influence of different social reference points and different comparison group sizes on risky decisionmaking. 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. But even before festinger was the greek fabulist aesop. If you like ice cream then this is another cognition. Leon festinger was a wellknown american social psychologist. Apr 08, 2017 the social comparison theory was developed by social psychologist leon festinger. In the rest of the book many behavioural facts supporting the theory are put forward. Explain how the social comparison findings, methodology, and theorizing have evolved since the publication of leon festingers theory in 1954. 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. This article integrates these changes with insights offered by recent social comparison studies and. How social neuroscience can inform theories of social comparison. Leon festingers social comparison theory the psychology notes.
The central idea of social comparison theory is that individuals often assess how well. Participants were presented with a scenario describing an exam, and presented with the opportunity of making a risky decision in the context of different information provided about the performance of their peers. Proposes a theory of temporal and historical comparison, developed from l. Jun 01, 2019 festiner this time, festinger published his highly influential paper on social comparison theory, extending his prior theory regarding the evaluation of attitudes in social groups to the evaluation of abilities in social groups. Workers were assigned to teams of two, performed identical individual tasks, and received the same. Effectiveness of upward and downward social comparison of. If you like to smoke then this can be considered a cognition. Limitations of the model future research limitations to the model. Based on the theory about social comparison described above, an experiment.
According to the theory, this process is most likely to occur when. Festingers social comparison theory psychology essay. Informal social communication theory was about the power of the group over the person. His theories and research are credited with renouncing the previously dominant behaviorist view of social. This may occur with reference to a physical reality. In the early 1950s, the behavioral sciences division of the ford foundation gave leon festinger a grant, which was part of the program of the laboratory for research in social relations. An introduction to the theory of cognitive dissonance. 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. Previous research suggested that exposure to media content. According to the theory, this process is most likely to occur when a. Cognitive dissonance theory examples a cognition can be considered a belief. A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger, 1954. Plato spoke of selfunderstanding and absolute standards.
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