Social comparison and ability evaluation

Radloff, Roland

doi:10.1016/0022-1031(66)90061-8

Cited by 42 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…A second approach to this problem involves defining subjects with average levels of ability as majority members, and subjects with either very low or high levels of ability as minority members. Both Radloff (1966) and Sanders (1982b) report that, thus defined, majority members are more accurate in their perceptions of relative standing than are minorities. The fact that this tendency held even when the minority had very high ability levels suggests that stigma-avoidance is not a necessary basis for the inferior accuracy of minority members.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accuracy in perceptions of consensus: Differential tendencies of people with majority and minority positions

Sanders

Mullen

1983

Euro J Social Psych

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accuracy in perceptions of consensus: Differential tendencies of people with majority and minority positions

Sanders

Mullen

1983

Euro J Social Psych

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“…Moreover, studies of the effects of comparisons (rather than comparison selections) indicate that, as Festinger (1954) predicted, one's self-evaluation becomes more stable and accurate when one compares oneself with others whose abilities are timliar (Radloff, 1966;Wilson, 1973;but see Gastorf& Suls, 1978). Comparisons with others who are very different on the dimension under evaluation, on the other hand, appear to have very little impact (France-Kaatrude & Smith, 1985;Mettee & Smith, 1977;Sanders, 1982b).…”

Section: Target Selections Along the Dimension Under Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal attributes.

Wood

1989

Psychological Bulletin

1,634

1,292

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Social comparison theory has evolved considerably since Festinger (1954) originally proposed it. This article integrates these changes with insights offered by recent social comparison studies and by research on social cognition and the self. Contrary to the original theory or subsequent research, (a) the individual is not always an unbiased self-evaluator but may seek many goals through social comparison; (b) the social environment may not be inactive but may impose unwanted comparisons; and (c) the comparison process involves more than selecting a comparison target: It is bidirectional, rather than unidirectional, and it may adopt a variety of forms to meet the individual's goals. Research involving comparisons of personal attributes illustrates these principles.The author is grateful to several people who provided very helpful critiques of previous drafts of this article:

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“…Given a range of comparison persons, individuals will choose to compare themselves to others who are similar on a specified ability or opinion (Festinger, 1954;Hakrniller, 1966). In the absence of similar comparison persons, inaccurate and unstable self-evaluations are made (Festinger, 1954;Gruder, 1971;Radloff, 1966).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mirror Images: Effects of the Standard of Beauty on the Self- and Body-Esteem of Women Exhibiting Varying Levels of Bulimic Symptoms

Irving¹

1990

Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology

322

208

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Authors in the field of eating disorders suggest that increasing preferences for thin body shapes in women may be related to recent increases in the prevalence of eating-related problems. Using a social comparison theory paradigm, this study looked at the impact of exposure to slides of thin, average, and oversize models on the self-evaluations of 162 women exhibiting varying levels of self-reported bulimic symptoms. Contrary to the author's expectations, exposure to thin models was related to lower self-evaluations regardless of level of bulimic symptoms. Women reporting high levels of bulimic symptoms did, however, report a greater amount of pressure to be thin coming from media, peers, and family than did women reporting lower levels of symptoms. Results suggest that media have an impact on women's selfevaluations regardless of their level of bulimic symptoms. Implications are discussed.

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Social comparison and ability evaluation

Cited by 42 publications

References 2 publications

Accuracy in perceptions of consensus: Differential tendencies of people with majority and minority positions

Accuracy in perceptions of consensus: Differential tendencies of people with majority and minority positions

Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal attributes.

Mirror Images: Effects of the Standard of Beauty on the Self- and Body-Esteem of Women Exhibiting Varying Levels of Bulimic Symptoms

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