Abstract
We examined patterns of self-evaluative information use in a sample of college women who were trying to lose weight (N = 306). Participants described their weight loss experiences and answered questions about their self-evaluative activity via an online survey. The analysis strategy examined the relative use of four types of self-evaluative information (objective, upward social comparison, lateral social comparison, and downward social comparison) to meet three basic self-evaluative motives (accurate self-assessment, self-enhancement, and self-improvement). We also examined the role that dissatisfaction, uncertainty, importance, and self-esteem played in the relative use of information and the relationship of these factors on weight loss success. Our findings support previous research showing the primacy of accurate and self-improvement motives in the domain of weight loss and the usefulness of lateral social comparison information for meeting all three motives. Women evaluating their weight reported using upward social comparison information most often, followed by objective information. Lateral and upward social comparison information were rated as more useful than downward social comparison information for meeting accuracy and self-improvement motives. Both lateral and downward social comparison information were reported as especially useful for self-enhancement, with upward social comparison information rated as least useful. Our study utilized an integrative approach for understanding self-evaluative processes in the area of college women’s weight loss. We found general support for our hypotheses regarding well-documented patterns of social comparison information usefulness for meeting three self-evaluative motives. Our data also support earlier research arguing that it is important to view information use in the context of multiple self-evaluative motives.
Highlights
Self-evaluation, the process by which individuals seek information to assess their own performance in a domain, has a rich scientific history (Festinger, 1954; Albert, 1977; Wills, 1981; Wood, 1989; Sedikides and Strube, 1997)
To align the hypotheses most closely with Festinger (1954), only objective, upward, lateral, and downward social comparison information were included in the analyses presented here
Importance of weight loss was positively and significantly associated with more frequent use of objective, lateral social comparison, and upward social comparison information types
Summary
Self-evaluation, the process by which individuals seek information to assess their own performance in a domain, has a rich scientific history (Festinger, 1954; Albert, 1977; Wills, 1981; Wood, 1989; Sedikides and Strube, 1997). Research has focused on the different motives that self-evaluation processes serve, including accurate self-evaluation (i.e., objective accounts of performance, skills, Self-Evaluation of Weight Loss andtraits that enable individuals to anticipate and control their future behavior; Festinger, 1954; Schachter, 1959; Trope, 1975; Swann, 1983), self-enhancement (i.e., the desire to protect a sense of self-worth in the face of threat; Wills, 1981; Taylor and Brown, 1988; Tesser, 1988), and self-improvement (i.e., extracting information that is useful for bettering one’s situation and guiding future behavior; Markus and Nurius, 1986; Taylor and Lobel, 1989). Other researchers have focused on moderating conditions that may influence the motive or the type of information guiding self-evaluation, such as threat, dissatisfaction, uncertainty, control, and/or the importance of a self-domain. It has been observed that individuals low in self-esteem have less stable self-concepts and may be more influenced by social comparison information (Campbell, 1990). Wills (1981) argued that low self-esteem can make self-enhancement motives more prominent
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have