Abstract
In addition to proposing a new method for testing the variability of social comparison strategies, this study looks at whether and how the social value of the comparison dimensions affect those strategies. After being attributed a superior, neutral, or inferior position on a dimension with a high or low social value, subjects were told they had to select 10 persons in order to choose a working partner among 30 comparison targets. Two pieces of information (a performance and a personality trait) presented in a table on a computer screen were given as a basis for the choice. The results showed that the social value of the dimension was an important determinant of the social comparison strategies, and that variability of these strategies appeared only when inferiority was experienced on a socially-valued dimension. While pointing out the relevance of the method employed, the results suggest the merits of taking the social value of comparison dimensions into account, and of studying social comparison process from a dynamic rather than static point of view.
Published Version
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