Social Comparison Theory

The Social Comparison Theory: Being a Zero Just a few years ago, being referred to as a “zero” was something that everyone wanted to avoid. Someone that was a “zero” was laughed at and ridiculed for being worthless and unpopular. It has not been until recently that being a “zero” could be a good thing. In today’s advertising and entertainment world, not only are women superior if they are a size zero, but size zero and size two body frames seem to have become the only body type acceptable for

Social Psychology is the study of the way people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the physical and imagined presence of others and examines how people perceive and interpret the social world. This study is built on theories and concepts involving human social interaction and how it may affect themselves and or the world around them. There are important concepts within the subject that can be important for people to understand about not only their perception of others, but of

The social comparison theory offers some level of explanation for how media images actually come to impact the way women feel about their bodies. It examines how individuals evaluate themselves in relation to peers, groups, and/or social categories (Milkie, 1999). The main argument is that people compare themselves on many different dimensions with other individuals who are similar to them. Depending on the target of comparison, a person will usually judge themselves as being either or better or

many different situations and environments. Social comparisons take place in the workplace, at school, within friend groups and many other areas. The social comparison theory may give us more knowledge about why and how we perform these comparisons. Leon Festinger was the psychologist who first brought up the idea of the social comparison theory. According to the theory, there exists two types of comparisons- upward and downward. The upward comparisons involve comparing ourselves to other people

Social Networking Sites Social networking sites (SNS) have become a way of life and a prominent form of communication. They provide a platform for users to professionally network, to socialize, to share personal adventures and achievements, and to express emotions and feelings. SNS allow users to observe family members, friends, acquaintances, or even strangers and learn what activities they are participating in or how they might be feeling at any given moment. With access to an abundance of information

In the new age of social media, people are constantly getting bombarded with multiple expectations on how one should live their life. With the infinite scrolling of exciting status updates on new jobs, more money, new travel destinations, relationship goals, etcetera; it can be rather easy for someone to feel inadequate at times about how less exciting their life might be compared to the next. In an article written by James Berges and posted on Shine titled, “How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

It has been suggested that people use social media sites, consciously or unconsciously, (Haferkamp & Kramer, 2011) as a basis for social comparative functions, such as self-evaluation (Festinger, 1954). Individuals usually compare themselves with others on various characteristics such as popularity, appearance, and success (Feinstein, Hershenberg, Bhatia, Latack, Meuwly, & Davila, 2013). When information is acquired of others, people will compare themselves to others (Mussweiler, Ruter, & Epstude

In today’s business world, more and more organizations are moving away from the use of individual work assignments to a combination of manager-led and self-directing teams. These businesses are relying on groups of unique individuals to come together and work on a common goal with a shared purpose. The ultimate goal for these teams are to produce more than what the individuals could do separately. In order for those teams to accomplish this, they must become high performance teams. High performance

changing how teens think? How does the high standard of beauty currently found in the media harm today’s generation? Who is at blame? Women today are being socially constructed to look a certain way. The theories and concepts of the mass media approach to socialization, social comparison theory, stigma, race, and ethnicity can be used to analyze this ongoing phenomenon. The Harm of Today’s Beauty Standards and The Facts In today’s society, there is an increasing pressure being put on young adolescents

women into purchasing these forms of media, and most have the potential to be a powerful influence on women’s sense of self-satisfaction with their appearance. The social comparison theory offers some level of explanation for how media images actually come to impact the way women feel about their bodies. “Social comparison theory examines how individuals evaluate themselves in relation to peers,