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Different types of comparison include upward and downward and lateral comparison

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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 self-evaluations. The theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others in order to reduce uncertainty in these domains, and learn how to define the self. Comparing oneself to others socially is a form of measurement and self assessment to identify where an individual stands according to their own set of standards and emotions about themselves.

Following the initial theory, research began to focus on social comparison as a way of self-enhancement, introducing the concepts of downward and upward comparisons and expanding the motivations of social comparisons. Social comparison can be traced back to the pivotal paper by Herbert Hiram Hyman, who was an American Sociologist, back in 1942. Hyman revealed the assessment of one’s own status is dependent on the group with whom one compares oneself. The social comparison theory is the belief that media influence, social status, and other forms of competitiveness can affect our self-esteem and mood. In turn, this can affect individuals outlook on themselves and how they fit in with others.

Leon Festinger

Leon Festinger was an American psychologist who developed the concept of Social Comparison Theory and Cognitive Dissonance. Festinger was born in New York City on May 8, 1919. Festinger had an interest in science which led him to pursue a career in psychology. He received his bachelor's degree from the City College and went on to Iowa State University for his master’s degree and Ph.D. which he received in 1942. Leon Festinger made his mark in social psychology by teaching the importance of scientific experimentation while challenging the influence of behaviorism and the affects it has.

Compare and contrast self-evaluation to self-enhancement[edit]

According to Thorton and Arrowood, self-evaluation is one of the functions of social comparison. This is one process that underlies how an individual engages in social comparison. Each individual's specific goals will influence how they engage in social comparison. For self-evaluation, people tend to choose a comparison target that is similar to themselves. Specifically, they are most interested in choosing a target who shares some distinctive characteristic with themselves. They also think that knowing the truth about themselves is salutary. Research suggests that most people believe that choosing a similar target helps ensure the accuracy of the self-evaluation. However, individuals do not always act as unbiased self-evaluators, and accurate self-evaluations may not be the primary goal of social comparison. There has been many studies and they all have shown that American women tend to be dissatisfied with their looks, they either rate themselves "too plain, old, pimply, fat, hairy, tall" and so much more. Women are much more sensitive than men especially with it having to do with their physical appearance. Due to media digitally altering women's appearance from the width of their torso or arms to the softness of their complexion creates the ideal that thin and flawless is the only acceptable way to look. This leads to diet culture, excessive exercise, and had lead to many eating disorders. This form of social comparison can cause harm and can affect the development of the way someone sees themselves.

Individuals may also seek self-enhancement, or to improve their self-esteem. They may interpret, distort, or ignore the information gained by social comparison to see themselves more positively and further their self-enhancement goals. People also seek self enhancement because holding favorable illusions about themselves is gratifying. They will also choose to make upward (comparing themselves to someone better off) or downward (comparing themselves to someone worse off) comparisons, depending on which strategy will further their self-enhancement goals. They may also avoid making comparisons period, or avoid making certain types of comparisons. People like consistency and when something changes, people want to find a way to eliminate that inconsistency and no longer be uncomfortable. That un-comfortability triggers them and helps motivate the change. Inconsistency allows a space for negative thoughts and comparisons to be formed which leads to this need of routine and a push to get things back to "normal." Specifically, when an individual believes that their ability in a specific area is low, they will avoid making upward social comparisons in that area. Unlike for self-evaluation goals, people engaging in social comparison with the goal of self-enhancement may not seek out a target that is similar to themselves. In fact, if a target's similarity is seen as a threat, due to the target outperforming the individual on some dimension, the individual may downplay the similarity of the target to themselves. This notion ties closely to the phenomena in psychology introduced also by Leon Festinger himself as it relates to the diminishing of cognitive dissonance. One does not want to perceive oneself in a way which would downplay one's original belief upon which one's self-esteem is based and therefore in order to reduce the cognitive dissonance, one is willing to change the cognitive representation of the other person whom one compares oneself to, such that one's own belief about oneself remains intact. This effectively leads to the comparison of apples to oranges or psychological denial.

Low self-esteem and social comparison

However, people with low self-esteem or people who are experiencing some sort of threat in their life (such as doing poorly in school, or suffering from an illness) tend to favor downward comparisons over upward comparisons. People with low self-esteem and negative affect improve their mood by making downward comparisons. Their mood does not improve as much as it would if they had high self-esteem. Even for people with low self-esteem, these downward social comparisons do improve their negative mood and allow them to feel hope and motivation for their future. However, these feelings of home could deter them from succeeding due to the harshness of which they judge themselves whether it is their success or their failures. Lower self-esteem can lead an individual to have higher standards for themselves but may never achieve them due to the judgement they receive from within.