More 520 Comparison synonyms. Effects of anxiety and socially mediated anxiety reduction on paired-associate learning. These findings suggest that the choice of comparison person or level of aspiration is important for certain populations. social-media. Someone similar to me would be a good example (e.g., approximately the same age and education without children), and I would not compare myself against someone exceptionally dissimilar (e.g., a parent who is trying to work while keeping an eye on their children). Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar. metaphor n. # flower , link likeness n. # resemblance juxtaposition n. # relationship correspondence n. # similarity correlation n. # resemblance collation n. Nicole | Community Manager. Social comparison in adjustment to breast cancer. Lists. You might then compare your abilities to a friend who couldn't make a basket to save his life. These upward comparisons often focus on the desire to improve our current status or level of ability. Smith, R. H. (2000). There are two types of social comparison; the upward and the down ward social comparison. The impact of social comparison results from psychological mechanisms: self-evaluation, self-improvement, and self-enhancement (Miller et al., 2015). We all engage in these behaviors. Human Relations. Group membership plays an essential role in evaluations. If we find that our ability/opinion is highly similar to the benchmark of perceived-to-be-similar individuals, then we feel more emboldened and confident in our abilities/opinions. These are only a snapshot of some of the examples of social comparison behaviors that we might demonstrate. We feel admiration for the comparison person and optimism about our own state; we can achieve the same level as them. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. One explanation is that we engage in more upward social comparisons on social media than we would in real life, which results in feelings of inferiority and envy. For these comparisons, we need to rely on more subjective metrics. Social comparison is the act of contrasting one's own life with the lives of other people as they are publicly represented. When people believe that the represented lives of others are superior to their own, social comparison can lead to issues caused by the fear of missing out ( FOMO ), including anxiety, depression and a lack of self-esteem. Social comparison refers to a behavior where we compare certain aspects of ourselves (e.g., our behavior, opinions, status, and success) to other people so that we have a better assessment of ourselves (Buunk & Gibbons, 2007). ), Tesser, A. comparison to other people. Introduced by Leon Festinger in 1954, the theory describes the comparison processes people utilize to evaluate their actions, accomplishments, and opinions in contrast to those of other people. Upward assimilative comparisons are motivating because we believe that we can achieve the same level of success, whereas downward assimilative comparisons remind us that we could easily do worse. Social comparison triggers a feeling of helplessness and despair about your failure to achieve comparable levels. In instances where an objective metric doesnt exist, we can rely on either self-evaluation or social evaluation. For example, I am more motivated to improve my ability/skills when I dont feel like the comparison person will treat me poorly or like I am inferior. This can be especially important for people who are transitioning from one stage of their lives to another and dont know whether they are performing at the optimal level. For example, the benchmark that I set for myself today for being productive might differ from my benchmark tomorrow. Both types of social comparison can result in negative and positive effects. I want to achieve that. You can also filter the word list so it only shows words that are also related to another word of your choosing. In literature, this comparison is known as social comparison. : the curtain of night, "all the world's a stage") 1. (2007). SCT proposes that there is a primitive drive within individuals to compare themselves with others in order to evaluate their own opinions and abilities. Social comparison not only plays a role in the judgments that people make about themselves but also in the way that people behave. If the evaluation highlights that we are performing poorly, then there are two possible outcomes. Couple Z makes it look so easy. .css-1w804bk{font-size:16px;}See how your sentence looks with different synonyms. Social comparison is a bi-directional phenomenon where we can compare ourselves to people who are better than us" upward comparisons "or worse than us" downward comparisons ." Engaging in either of these two comparisons on a performance dimension can affect our self-evaluation. "or worse than us". Any disagreements in the coding would need to be resolved before coding continued. All Rights Reserved,
Comparisons can be further classified as contrastive or assimilative. Social comparison can motivate people to improve, but it can also promote judgmental, biased, and overly competitive or superior attitudes. Have a nice day! Keep it up! At the same time, those whose online personas contrast sharply with reality may also suffer from a loss of self-esteem. Synonym of Social comparison: English Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia Social comparison theory The theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to othe Translation Dictionary Thesaurus Tools Babylon NG The world's best online dictionary Download it's free For other comparisons, however, it is not so easy, because an objective metric doesnt exist. (1985) reported a group of patients who were diagnosed with cancer and asked them how much contact they had with other patients, whether they compared their current situation with that of other people, and then to evaluate how well they were coping in comparison. 2022 Dotdash Media, Inc. All rights reserved. . The term is particularly relevant to social media. Social comparison theory is centered on the belief that there is a drive within individuals to gain accurate self-evaluations. These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients build healthy, life-enriching relationships. Initially, social comparison theory only included comparisons of opinions and abilities (Festinger, 1954), but since then, the theory has expanded to include other aspects such as emotions (Gibbons & Buunk, 1999; Schachter, 1959). This is an example of downward social comparison. This is easier said than done. A theory of social comparison processes. A., Meuwly, N., & Davila, J. In turn, this can affect individuals outlook on themselves and how they fit in with others. Self-evaluation via the social comparison theory takes place when someone chooses to compare themselves to another person to gain a better understanding of themselves. Festinger (1954) argued that the outcome is even more severe in cases when we are comparing opinions, because this divergent individual poses such a threat to our evaluation of our own views that we consider them removed from the group and will no longer talk to them. noun contrasting; corresponding synonyms for comparisons Compare Synonyms analogy connection contrast correlation example identification juxtaposition observation ratio relation resemblance similarity testing allegory association balancing collation comparability discrimination estimation exemplification illustration likeness likening measuring Festinger (1954) proposed that social comparison was driven by a need to evaluate ourselves so that we had more information about ourselves; however, more recent theory suggests that social comparison is motivated by three drives (Gibbons & Buunk, 1999): The concept of social comparison has expanded dramatically from a limited theory that only addressed opinions and abilities to include more abstract concepts such as job satisfaction and overall life success. when compared to. At first you may feel discouraged by the gap between your ability levels. These individuals also reported more resultant depressive symptoms (Liu et al., 2017). For example, a music student might compare herself to the star student of the class. Knowing this, what can we do instead? The direction of the comparison does not guarantee only positive or negative outcomes. 1. If you just care about the words' direct semantic similarity to social comparison, then there's probably no need for this. People compare themselves to those who are better when they want inspiration to improve, and they compare themselves to those who are worse when they want to feel better about themselves. Mathematics anxiety according to middle school students' achievement motivation and social comparison. It was originally thought that individuals do this partly in order to limit hostility and . Ad-free experience & advanced Chrome extension. business names, or pet names), this page might help you come up with ideas. The reason self-evaluation is important is that it is how people learn . up against. We hope you enjoyed reading this article. The results below obviously aren't all going to be applicable for the actual name of your pet/blog/startup/etc., but hopefully they get your mind working and help you see the links between various concepts. The social comparison theory is the belief that media influence, social status, and other forms of competitiveness can affect our self-esteem and mood. Nevertheless, we often compare our own real lives to an idealized version of the lives of others, based on their posts, which can lead to feelings of inferiority. Let's take a closer look at how social comparison theory works and how the comparisons we make influence the views we may hold of ourselves. For example, imagine that a high school student has just signed up for band class to learn how to play the clarinet. 3. There is additional evidence that compared to individuals who engage in fewer social comparisons, individuals who engage in more social comparisons respond more negatively to downward social comparisons (e.g., Buunk, Oldersma, & De Dreu, 2001). I think to be in the role he is now, and people be telling me that I am the face of Japans multiculturalism is something Ive always dreamed about., Naomi Osaka describing how Apolo Ohno is her role model. Smith (2000) further expands this argument by arguing that: (a) These contrastive and assimilative outcomes can result in positive and negative feelings specifically. As she evaluates her skills and progress, she will compare her performance to other students in the class. , That's about all the social comparison related words we've got! According to social comparison theory, individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how they measure up against others. By Kendra Cherry My friend met her target weight. comparison of individuals. (2013). Toward a self-evaluation maintenance model of social behavior. Facebook comments, likes and shares also provide fodder for comparisons. Comparability, similarity, resemblance, analogy. For example, when you compare yourself to your friends you might feel that you are pretty physically fit. To reconcile these discrepancies and shed new light on this phenomenon, the current study examined: (1) whether upward social comparison and self-esteem mediate the association between social networking site (SNS) usage . The frequency data is extracted from the English Wikipedia corpus, and updated regularly. Festinger, L. (1954). The presence of optimism further mediates this relationship. Festinger was more interested in comparisons that used objective metrics; however, he recognized that most comparisons in the real world were a mix of objective and subjective metrics. For example, when cancer patients meet other patients whose illness has progressed further, they reported that they felt threatened.
Social comparison theory suggests that, when seeking to validate opinions and abilities, people will first turn to direct observation. sentences. (2017). The explanation for these contrary findings is that the other patients, who were worse off, were a reminder that their health could deteriorate (Wood, Taylor, & Lichtman, 1985). When race day arrives, you might find yourself surrounded by people who are much more athletic than you and realize that your initial assessment of your abilities was overly optimistic. Privacy Policy
"or worse than us". The typical inclination is to compare upward. Hence, they make comparisons in terms of wealth, intelligence, and success, for example. Liu, Q. Q., Zhou, Z. K., Yang, X. J., Niu, G. F., Tian, Y., & Fan, C. Y. HERES WHERE TO DONATE YOUR MONEY. Below is a massive list of upward social comparison words - that is, words related to upward social comparison. If the individual and the group differ in ability, then it is unlikely that the ability level will change; instead, the individual will develop feelings of inferiority. Ive provided a list of some everyday examples where we might use comparisons. So, you might sign up for a marathon believing that you have the ability to finish with no problem. These types of views and behaviors are not that relevant to current modern life, but we can easily think of examples of behaviors and opinions that are still important; for example, how would you know if you worked a sufficient number of hours in a day? Synonyms for by comparison include comparative, relative, approximate, qualified, near, modified, allusive, analogous, approaching and comparable. Along [], Chamber of Commerce (KvK) Registration Number: 64733564, 6229 HN Maastricht, 2022 PositivePsychology.com B.V. Social comparison: The end of a theory and the emergence of a field. Parental control over preadolescent time spent on social media was not associated with depressive symptoms. Public self-consciousness positively relates to social comparison of appearance. Social comparison can be useful because it provides us with a way to determine if we are on track, but it can also be extremely harmful and result in negative thoughts and behaviors. Although downward social comparison might seem like a quick and dirty move to boost our self-esteem, the effects of downward social comparisons are variable and can also result in negative outcomes. Goals Of Social Comparison. Adopting this attitude can be difficult, especially when we feel uncertain, stressed out, or afraid. A figure of speech containing an implied comparison, in which a word or phrase ordinarily and primarily used of one thing is applied to another (Ex. Either way, the net result is that the group members become more similar. Introduction: Social Comparison. Social comparison is a bi-directional phenomenon where we can compare ourselves to people who are better than us". The top 4 are: group, social, sociality and sociable. In L. Berkowitz (Ed. Instead, we should be grateful for what we have achieved and grateful that we can continue to achieve what we desire. She just gets it. Clinically depressed individuals who reported that they often used social comparisons experience a positive change in their mood when their levels of aspirations were easily achievable (i.e., assimilative upward social comparison). For people with depression, social comparison can have mixed effects. Upward social comparison can be helpful because it allows for self-enhancement; for example, we might feel motivated to improve our performance (Collins, 1996). the larger part. Generally, individuals wish to maintain a positive social identity by maintaining their group's favorable social standing over that of relevant out-groups. But I have little upward drive for topics that are of no interest to me. Each of us was born in a unique set of circumstances, in a unique environment, and our successes are not limited by the people who we compare ourselves to. That representation, however, is unlikely to align very closely to the individuals actual life. Facebook, for example, serves as a platform for people to represent themselves and their lives to others. Cookie Preferences
Most people have the social skills and impulse control .
This is an example of upward social comparison. definitions. When asked who individuals wanted to compare themselves with, the majority chose people who achieve higher scores (Wheeler, 1966). Kesici S, Erdogan A. ['rilen'] an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together. When an individual has a view or an ability that is extremely divergent from the group, then that individual might be forced to leave the group in favor of another one, or the original group might split into a small subgroup. This comparative educational study aims to analyze the values in the Sachunterricht (Social Studies) 1/2 textbook in Germany and in the 2nd-grade Social Studies textbook in Turkey according to the "Basic Human Values Theory". Looking beyond zoom fatigue: The relationship between video chatting a. Digital marketing is a general term for any effort by a company to connect with customers through electronic technology. Social comparison theory concerns the psychological processes by which individuals compare themselves to other people. Similar words for Social Relation. .". Assimilative and contrastive emotional reactions to upward and downward social comparisons. Psychologist Leon Festinger believed that we engage in this comparison process as a way of establishing a benchmark by which we can make accurate evaluations of ourselves. the lion's share. Hey Thanks for a nice read!
1 other term for social-networking- words and phrases with similar meaning. 1 : the act or process of comparing: such as a : the representing of one thing or person as similar to or like another His poetry invites comparison with the poems of Robert Frost. Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Relationships Exercises for free. The direction of the comparison doesnt guarantee the direction of the outcome. Direction of Comparison. If he can run a half-marathon, then so can I. I feel happy knowing that I beat my neighbor in the half-marathon. Gibbons, F. X., & Buunk, B. P. (1999). Social psychologist Leon Festinger developed social comparison theory in the 1950s. We might not be great at something, but at least we are better off than someone else.. But what if a similarly skilled individual does not exist for comparison purposes? Although the authors were expecting evidence of social comparisons to arise from the closed questions, instead they found many instances of spontaneous mentioning of social comparisons during the interview. The research about social comparisons is complex and equivocal. Built with love in the Netherlands. sentences. Instead of the desired effect, where we assess our abilities and opinions against a realistic, achievable benchmark (or role model), social comparisons can result in the opposite outcome, where we compare our behavior to an unrealistic benchmark and subsequently develop low self-esteem. These types of comparisons with similar individuals yield more useful, reliable assessments. Social comparison is the act of contrasting ones own life with the lives of other people as they are publicly represented. Employee retention is the organizational goal of keeping productive and talented workers and reducing turnover by fostering a A hybrid work model is a workforce structure that includes employees who work remotely and those who work on site, in a company's CRM (customer relationship management) analytics comprises all of the programming that analyzes data about customers and presents Conversational marketing is marketing that engages customers through dialogue. They get along so well and never fight, unlike us. In such instances, this individual is no longer considered a viable comparison and is no longer included in comparisons. In his 1954 paper, Festinger outlined nine hypotheses about our behavior and motivations when using social comparisons under different scenarios. when compared with. We rely on the most current and reputable sources, which are cited in the text and listed at the bottom of each article. One of the challenges of social comparison theory is deciding who were going to compare ourselves to, especially since the outcome of the social comparison differs according to the type of comparison (contrastive/assimilative), as well as our characteristics. Below is a massive list of social comparison words - that is, words related to social comparison. Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. One pleasant Saturday afternoon, Mr. Jones arrives home from the car dealership in a brand-new Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the entry-level sedan in the Mercedes family of cars. When group membership and conforming to group norms are desirable, then we are more likely to reject members who are very different from us. Explore the concept of the Social Comparison Theory, the upward and downward comparisons, and the definition and . (1981). When one engages in social comparison, one may attempt (consciously or subconsciously) to self-evaluate or self-enhance. You can get the definition(s) of a word in the list below by tapping the question-mark icon next to it. In literature, this comparison is known as social comparison. Using this comparison point, instead of a different person, might help you focus on the positive aspects of your life currently. My other colleagues situation reminds me to plan my work better so that Im not in the same position that theyre in. Random . As to the building systems, Kitchell recommended replacement of the major systems based on a conclusory, As big as that sacrifice seems, it seems small in, TRUMP AND HIS CAMPAIGN TRY TO ALLAY CONCERNS ABOUT TRAILING BIDEN IN TELEVISION ADS. For upward comparisons, we are seen as more inferior to the comparison person, and for downward comparisons, we are considered as more superior. Increased public and private self-consciousness, More empathy and sensitivity toward others, Increased depressive symptoms (Feinstein et al., 2013), Experience of depressive episodes three weeks later (Feinstein et al., 2013), Lower self-esteem (de Vries & Khne, 2015; Liu et al., 2017), Lower body image (de Vries & Khne, 2015; Liu et al., 2017), Higher levels of optimism (which is a buffer against the negative effects of downward social comparisons), More prosocial behavior (Emmons & McCullough, 2003). 'comparison' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations): analogy - association - collation - equation - metaphor - ratio - simile - symbolism - trope.