Social Comparison And Social Psychology: Understanding Cognition, Intergroup Relations, And Culture

Social Comparison and Social Psychology Much of our knowledge about ourselves, and about the world in which we live, is based on a process of social comparison. Our tendency to appraise events, objects, people, and social groups by making comparisons has captured the interest of social psychologists for over half a century. This volume provides an up-to-date synthesis of the latest theoretical and empirical developments in social psychology through research on social comparison processes. With chapters by leading theorists and internationally renowned researchers, it provides invaluable information on the role of this process of comparison as it occurs within a single individual over time, between individuals, and between social groups. It also features an original international study testing the universality of the effects of social comparison on the self. This book will appeal to scholars and students alike and will serve as an important reference for the study of cognition, intergroup relations, and culture. is Professor of Psychology at the Universite´ Blaise Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand, France. SERGE GUIMOND Social Comparison and Social Psychology Understanding Cognition, Intergroup Relations, and Culture edited by Serge Guimond CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sa˜o Paulo CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521608442 # Cambridge University Press 2006 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2006 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN-13 978-0-521-84593-9 hardback ISBN-10 0-521-84593-9 hardback ISBN-13 978-0-521-60844-2 paperback ISBN-10 0-521-60844-9 paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Contents List of figures List of tables List of contributors Preface page viii x xi xv Introduction: social comparison processes and levels of analysis 1 SERGE GUIMOND Part 1 Cognition: comparison processes within and between individuals 1 2 13 Social comparison orientation: a new perspective on those who do and those who don’t compare with others A B R A H A M P. B U U N K A N D F R E D E R I C K X . G I B B O N S 15 The why, who, and how of social comparison: a social-cognition perspective ¨ T E R, T H O M A S M U S S W E I L E R, K A T J A R U 33 AND KAI EPSTUDE 3 Autobiographical memory, the self, and comparison processes R A S Y I D B O S A N I T I O S O, M A R T I N A. C O N W A Y, 55 AND SOPHIE BRUNOT 4 Comparing oneself over time: the temporal dimension in social comparison 76 SANDRINE REDERSDORFF AND SERGE GUIMOND Part 2 Intergroup relations: comparison processes within and between groups 5 Predicting comparison choices in intergroup settings: a new look 97 99 HANNA ZAGEFKA AND RUPERT BROWN v vi 6 Contents The variable impact of upward and downward social comparisons on self-esteem: when the level of analysis matters 127 DELPHINE MARTIN