Social comparison theory essay sample sample essays. Social comparison theory states that individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how they stack up against others. Explaining theories of interpersonal communication 51 03dainton. According to festingers social comparison theory people. Festingers social comparison theory psychology essay. Social comparison theory, initially proposed by social psychologist leon festinger in 1954. What other theories could maybe relate back to this theory. 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. 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. This may occur with reference to a physical reality. A social comparison approach to organizational choice under what circumstances does social information affect choices. A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger, 1954. Social comparison theory why dont we use objective criteria. In this paper we shall present a further development of a previously published theory concerning.
He has the honor of establishing the experimentation techniques in social psychology to an advanced level. People sometimes compare themselves to others as a way of. Festinger 1954 used the theory to explain shifts in members opinions. Some premises of festingers 1954 theory of social comparison were put to empirical test. University of groningen the effects of social comparison.
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. Based on the theory about social comparison described above. On clarifying some interpretations of social comparison theory. Festingers social comparison theory festingers social comparison theory is a successor of his theory of informal social communication 1950. Social comparison theory assumes that people tend to evaluate their successes, failures and opinions in relation to others festinger, 1954. Keeping up with the joneses affects perceptions of distributive justice pdf. There is no original or primary gender a drag imitates, but gender is a kind of. Leon festingers social comparison theory the psychology. Explain how the social comparison findings, methodology, and theorizing have evolved since the publication of leon festingers theory in 1954. Social comparison theory, based on ones drive for selfevaluation, was first coined by leon festinger 1954. Leon festinger was a 20th century psychologist who developed the theories of cognitive dissonance and social comparison.
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. The impact of facebook on social comparison and happiness. Journal of consumer research themselves to others festinger 1954. This is known as the principle of cognitive consistency. How well is our business performing over a specific period, will your social enterprise have the financial resources to continue serving its constituents tomorrow as well as today. When psychologists think of social comparison theory, they initially recall leon festingers classic paper on a theory of social comparison processes. Leon festinger was a wellknown american social psychologist. Original theory festingers 1954 social comparison theory postulates that humans have a drive to evaluate their opinions and abilities. Although the empirical literature in these areas is well developed,a general formal theory of attitude change, however,does not exist. A theory of social comparison processes 8 there is some indirect corroboration of this from experimental evidence. This chapter is a reminder of social comparison theorys foundations in group.
To determine the role of social comparison for body dissatisfaction in bulimia nervosa bn. 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 psychology edited by eddie harmonjones. 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. A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger. A recent test of social information processing theory showed little effect of anonymous social cues. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. 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. Limitations of the model future research limitations to the model. 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. Social comparison theory the theory that i had chosen to discuss and research about would happen to be the social comparison theory.
If you like to smoke then this can be considered a cognition. 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. 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. Social comparison and its relation to body dissatisfaction in bulimia nervosa.
Pdf social comparison and influence in groups researchgate. The social comparison theory was developed by social psychologist leon festinger. Effects of perceived fitness level of exercise partner on. Leon festinger 8 may 1919 11 february 1989 was an american social psychologist, perhaps best known for cognitive dissonance and social comparison theory. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page information wikidata item cite this page. If you like ice cream then this is another cognition. 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. Evidence from eye movements jens blechert,phd, till nickert,dipl psych,detlef caffier,dipl mat, and brunna tuschencaffier,phd objective. His first hypothesis states that there exist, in the human organism, a drive to evaluate his opinions and abilities. Sie wurde 1954 durch leon festingers arbeit a theory of social comparison. Greenberg 16 reports a study in competition in which pairs of children, seated together at a table, were to construct things out of stones blocks which were initially all in one common pile.
According to festingers social comparison theory, people often form judgments about their traits and abilities by comparing themselves with others. Kemampuan ability dalam perbandingan kemampuan terdapat dorongan searah menuju keadaan yang lebih baik atau kemampuan yang lebih tinggi. Integrating social comparison theory and selfesteem within objectification theory to predict womens disordered eating tracy l. A theory of social comparison processes center for human science.
Festingers social comparison theory by sara longmire on prezi. This social world consists of the behaviors, interactions, and patterns of social organization among humans, although some would argue that a sociology of nonhuman animals that. Social comparison the comparative nature of selfviews means that people must consult the social world to gain selfknowledge. His theories and research are credited with renouncing the previously dominant behaviorist view of social.
This paper furthers festingers views on group influences of opinions and applies it to abilities as well. Exercise, social comparison, perceived fitness, mood, exertion. Theory and research concerning social comparisons of. Sociological theory theories invite controversy theories seek to explain things. This insight forms the heart of festingers social comparison theory festinger, 1954. These theories continue to play a role in contemporary psychology. Previous research suggested that exposure to media content. At the university of minnesota, festinger developed social comparison theory, his second major contribution to social psychology. Cognitive dissonance theory has been known to play out in several ways. To function effectively, they need to know their own capacities and limitations, and they must be accurate in their opinions of ob. The format of communicating the social comparison information was an. Social comparison theory was used to examine if exercising with a. Social comparison and its relation to body dissatisfaction.
Social comparison theory and drive for self evaluation. Informal social communication theory was about the power of the group over the person. Effectiveness of upward and downward social comparison of. But even before festinger was the greek fabulist aesop. Greenberg 16 reports a study in competition in which pairs of children, seated together at a table, were to construct things out of stones blocks which were initially all in. Social comparison universitas pendidikan indonesia. Since this theory model focuses greatly on only a portion of an individual and their personality, their own self as a. Cognitive dissonance theory examples a cognition can be considered a belief. It has been said by researchers that in the social cognitive theory, its perspective can ignore the internal and unconscious thought processes and emotions. Plato spoke of selfunderstanding and absolute standards.
The nature of sociological theory sage publications. Leon festinger mentioned his hypotheses in his book entitled social comparison processes that gives substantial exploration of his theory. And thus, sociological theory attempts to explain how the social world operates. 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. Integrating social comparison theory and selfesteem. In this theory, it simply asserts that the process in which people learn about themselves by comparing themselves to other members of society. This states that people evaluate their own abilities and attitude relative to other peoples. According to the theory, this process is most likely to occur when. Access to society journal content varies across our titles. Write about the interaction between affect and social comparison. Under certain cir cumstances, this social comparison information can be.
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. Financial ratio analysis communicating social impact. Key concepts hegemonic masculinity patriarchal dividend. 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. A reason for this gap in understanding is the very different focus of the decision making under risk and social preference literatures. What are some potential consequences or faults of the importance of status and the resulting competition in todays society. Born on 8 th may, 1919, he was the pioneer of social comparison and cognitive dissonance theory.
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