The variable impact of upward and downward social comparisons on self-esteem: when the level of analysis matters

Abstract

One of the main concerns stemming directly from research related to Festinger's theory of social comparison processes (1954) involves understanding the relations between upward comparisons, downward comparisons, and self-esteem (e.g., Blanton, 2001). Do we feel better about ourselves when we compare with more successful others (upward comparison), or when we compare with less successful others (downward comparison), and why? Given the crucial role played by self-esteem in social adaptation and cognitive functioning (e.g., Greenberg, Solomon, Pyszcynski, Rosenblatt, Burling, Lyon, Simon, and Pinel, 1992; Steele, 1988; Taylor and Brown, 1988; Tesser and Campbell, 1983), the striking determination and persistence that researchers have shown in studying this issue is readily understood (for reviews see Part One, this volume; Markman and McMullen, 2003; Mussweiler, 2003). It is much less obvious, however, why, up until quite recently, most of this research was designed without taking into consideration the level of analysis at which social comparisons occur. Some thirty years ago, Tajfel (1972, 1974) and Turner (1975), suggested that social comparisons could take place at the individual level as in Festinger's theory, but also at the group level. Furthermore, as shown in Social Identity Theory (Tajfel and Turner, 1979), social comparisons at the group level are likely to have a significant bearing on self-esteem (see Long and Spears, 1997). Therefore, taking into account the level of analysis immediately raises new questions about the impact of social comparison on self-esteem.