Born on 8 th may, 1919, he was the pioneer of social comparison and cognitive dissonance theory. Apr 08, 2017 the social comparison theory was developed by social psychologist leon festinger. Study of motivation involving selfannounced goals of fifth grade children and the concept of level of. This is known as the principle of cognitive consistency. This work is a clearly stated theory on how humans think, decide, and defend their decisions. 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. Festingers influential social comparison theory can cognitkva viewed as an extension of his prior theory related. The concept of social comparison was first termed and fully developed by festinger 1954, who hypothesized that we are unable to selfjudge our opinions and abilities accurately, and instead rely on comparing ourselves to other people to form an evaluation.
Leon festinger 8 may 1919 11 february 1989 was an american social psychologist, perhaps best known for cognitive dissonance and social comparison theory. 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. This may occur with reference to a physical reality. In this paper we shall present a further development of a previously published theory concerning opinion influence processes in social groups 7. The history of festinger s social comparison theory is traced from its publication in 1954 to its celebration at the apa convention in 1984. 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. People prefer to compare themselves to others in a close proximity such as coworkers, friends, family members, etc. 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. Study of motivation involving selfannounced goals of fifth grade children and the concept of level of aspiration, journal of social psychology, 1939, 10, 209232. This insight forms the heart of festingers social comparison theory festinger, 1954. In 1954, festinger proposed a theory of social comparison based on this insight. Although festinger s unidirectional drive upward recognized individuals interest in selfimprovement, few studies have ex amined its role in social comparison. Festingers social comparison theory festingers social comparison theory is a successor of his theory of informal social communication 1950.
She attracted a group of followers who left jobs, schools, and spouses and. Social comparison theory in psychology verywell mind. This volume presents the most recent developments in this field of study social comparison. Apr 19, 2018 thinking about or priming similarity before conducting a comparison lessens this effect, largely in line with current accounts. Leon festinger leon festinger cognitive dissonance. 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 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. Since festingers seminal work on the phenomenon in the 1950s 6, the psychological consequences of social comparison have been demonstrated through a range of methods, including neuroscience research on momentary rewards in the. Social comparison theory states that individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how they stack up against others. Human relations entitled a theory of social comparison processes. A theory of social comparison processes center for human science. Festingers social comparison theory when objective criteria for self evaluation are not present we learn about our own abilities and attitudes by comparing ourselves to other people. Festinger s social comparison theory dealt with com parison within groups and other facetoface compari sons. Festinger began his theory of social comparison with the postulate that people have a drive to evaluate their abilities hypothesis i.
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. Festingers social comparison theory festingers social comparison theory is a successor of his theory of informal. Festingers social comparison theory psychology essay. He has the honor of establishing the experimentation techniques in social psychology to an advanced level. Keech, reported receiving messages from extraterrestrial aliens that the world would end in a great flood on a specific date. Through their featuressuch as profile photographs or the personal vitaonline profiles on socialnetworking sites offer a perfect basis for social comparison processes. A central feature of festinger s 1954 original proposal concerned the implications that social comparison processes have for interpersonal interaction. 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. A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger. 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. Leon festingers social comparison theory the psychology. Theory and research concerning social comparisons of. Pengaruh self esteem, social comparison, thin ideal internalization, dan rasa syukur terhadap body. By looking at the profile photograph, the user gains an impression of a persons physical attractiveness, and the users vita shows which career path the person is pursuing.
Social comparison and the idealized images of advertising. As described in the chapters that follow, the theory has gone through several iterations, taken on new problems and research paradigms, and reached out to other social psychological areas of study. Cognitive dissonance is one form of social comparison. People sometimes compare themselves to others as a way of. Over 100 journal articles on social comparison have appeared. The basic hypotheses of festingers theory relevant to this clarification are i, i1 and iv, respectively, that there exists in the. Social comparison the comparative nature of selfviews means that people must consult the social world to gain selfknowledge.
In 1951 festinger moved to a tenuretrack position at the university of minnesota, where schachter was already on the faculty. Based on the theory about social comparison described above. Social comparison theory received little attention after its original publication. Pengaruh selfesteem, social comparison, thin ideal internalization, dan rasa syukur terhadap body. 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. These theories continue to play a role in contemporary psychology. Article information, pdf download for a theory of social comparison processes, open. Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal. Leon festinger was a 20th century psychologist who developed the theories of cognitive dissonance and social comparison.
Although interest in the theory has waxed and waned since then goethals, 1986b, social comparison research has enjoyed a resurgence recently. 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. 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. Festinger defined two types of comparisons upward comparisons and. 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. A theory of social comparison processes, retrieved september 12, 2007, from hum. 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. Effectiveness of upward and downward social comparison of. The theory was ambiguous, however, about the concept of similarity, and critics argued that if an individual already knows that someone is similar, that implies that a comparison has already been. Leon festinger was a wellknown american social psychologist. Festinger s hypothesis according to festinger s theory of social comparison people gain selfknowledge and selfawareness by comparing themselves to others.
The social comparison theory was originally proposed by leon festinger in 1954. A cornerstone of festinger s theory is that comparison with others who are similar provides better information than comparison with dissimilar others. Does social media enhance leon festingers social comparison. Both before and after festinger s original set of propositions about our drive to evaluate the self in comparison to similar others, many other theorists have provided nuances and updates. Social comparison theory greenwood major reference. Festinger argued that humans have a drive to evaluate their opinions and abilities. When there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors dissonance, something must change to eliminate the. When psychologists think of social comparison theory, they initially recall leon festingers classic paper on a theory of social comparison processes. Some of this research addresses questions that are logical extensions of leon festinger s theory.
A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger, 1954. Social comparison theory an overview sciencedirect topics. Social comparison theory assumes that people tend to evaluate their successes, failures and opinions in relation to others festinger, 1954. He is also very wellknown for developing social theory for the proximity effect. While at the university of minnesota, festinger read about a cult that believed that the end of the world was at hand. Festingers social comparison theory dealt with com parison within groups and other facetoface compari sons. May 04, 2020 social comparison theory after lewins death in 1947, the research center for group dynamics, with most of its remaining faculty, moved to the university of michigan. However, in the three decades since the publication of this work, social comparison theory has evolved in several ways. Social comparison activity under threat downward evaluation. According to the social psychologist, the social comparison theory is the idea that there is a drive within individuals to search for outside images in order to evaluate their own opinions and abilities. Pdf a theory of social comparison processes semantic scholar.