Contextual neglect, self-evaluation, and the frog-pond effect.

Zell, Ethan; Alicke, Mark D.

doi:10.1037/a0015453

Cited by 96 publications

(156 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The average support in one's work-unit is the most salient reference point because individuals interact and share information about support to form an aggregate understanding of the general level of individual support in the unit, especially when the work-unit consists of individuals similarly classified by type of job Buckingham and Alicke, 2002;Klein, 2003;Radzevick and Moore, 2013). Comparisons versus the work-unit average, or aggregate social comparisons, are therefore powerful in shaping individual behavior, as demonstrated by numerous studies highlighting their effects (e.g., Alicke et al, 2010;Buckingham and Alicke, 2002;Henderson et al, 2008;Klein, 2003;Klein, 1997;Zell and Alicke, 2009). …”

Section: Social Comparison Theory and Posmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This phenomenon is demonstrated by the "paradoxical finding that poor students in higher quality schools tend to have less favorable academic self-concepts than good students in lower quality schools, despite objectively similar (or even better) performance" (Zell and Alicke, 2009: 470). While research on the relative importance of within-and between-group effects is limited, Zell and Alicke (2009) drew upon five studies to show that individuals typically value within-group comparisons more. Thus, individuals prioritize comparisons of their own standing with that of the social aggregate in the group, and generally consider their group's relative standing with other groups considerably less Zell and Alicke, 2009;.…”

Section: Cross-level Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While research on the relative importance of within-and between-group effects is limited, Zell and Alicke (2009) drew upon five studies to show that individuals typically value within-group comparisons more. Thus, individuals prioritize comparisons of their own standing with that of the social aggregate in the group, and generally consider their group's relative standing with other groups considerably less Zell and Alicke, 2009;.…”

Section: Cross-level Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Empirical development of social comparison theory suggests that information obtained through frog-pond, or within-group, comparisons are more salient than outside, or betweengroup comparisons Zell and Alicke, 2009). This phenomenon is demonstrated by the "paradoxical finding that poor students in higher quality schools tend to have less favorable academic self-concepts than good students in lower quality schools, despite objectively similar (or even better) performance" (Zell and Alicke, 2009: 470).…”

Section: Cross-level Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social comparisons and organizational support: Implications for commitment and retention

et al. 2016

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Organizational support theory (OST) suggests that employees develop a general perception of the extent to which the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being (perceived organizational support – POS), and respond to that support through attitudes and behaviors that are beneficial toward the organization. Although OST emphasizes both social exchange and self-enhancement processes, most accounts of POS’s effects are rooted in social exchange. For example, POS’s linkages with commitment and retention have been explained as an exchange of support for positive attitudes and continued employment. This research sheds light on self-enhancement’s less-understood role in fostering these reactions by demonstrating the influence of social comparison effects. Drawing on a sample of 342 employees nested in 82 work-units of a US hospitality company, our analysis demonstrates that favorable POS comparisons with peers in one’s work-unit are positively associated with commitment and retention, whereas unfavorable comparisons are negatively related. Results also show that comparisons taking place in less-supported work-units have stronger impact than comparisons made in those with better support. Our findings extend OST by revealing the importance of social comparisons in engendering responses to organizational support, and in so doing potentially explicate the differential ways social exchange and self-enhancement operate with regard to POS.

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Section: Social Comparison Theory and Posmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cross-level Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cross-level Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cross-level Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social comparisons and organizational support: Implications for commitment and retention

et al. 2016

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“…In fact, students tend to pay more attention to their relative standing within their immediate local community rather than as compared to more general segments of the population (Zell & Alicke, 2009). Thus, for students who struggle academically in the context of a high achieving environment, such comparisons could breed social isolation and negative feelings about the self, others, and school.…”

Section: Linked Lives the Life Course Concept Of Linked Lives Conveymentioning

confidence: 99%

Stressors and Turning Points in High School and Dropout

Dupéré

Leventhal

Dion

et al. 2015

Review of Educational Research

135

103

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High school dropout is commonly seen as the result of a long-term process of failure and disengagement. As useful as it is, this view has obscured the heterogeneity of pathways leading to dropout. Research suggests, for instance, that some students leave school not as a result of protracted difficulties but in response to situations that emerge late in their schooling careers, such as health problems or severe peer victimization. Conversely, others with a history of early difficulties persevere when their circumstances improve during high school. Thus, an adequate understanding of why and when students drop out requires a consideration of both long-term vulnerabilities and proximal disruptive events and contingencies. The goal of this review is to integrate long-term and immediate determinants of dropout by proposing a stress process, life course model of dropout. This model is also helpful for understanding how the determinants of dropout vary across socioeconomic conditions and geographical and historical contexts. There have been repeated calls in the scientific literature to consider high school dropout not as an event but as a process (see Christenson & Thurlow, 2004;Rumberger, 2011). In this view, dropout is the endpoint of a long trajectory of disengagement starting as soon as, and even before, children enter school. This long-term approach has led to breakthroughs in our understanding of the roots of dropout. Longitudinal studies spanning the first two decades of life have illuminated the role that early family circumstances and school experiences play in putting some children on a high-risk trajectory for dropout (e. Beechum, 2014). Understanding the causes of dropout among students who do not follow a clearly identified pathway out of school is necessary to tailor interventions to their needs (Feinstein & Peck, 2008). Among these dropouts, precipitating factors (i.e., situations emerging for high school students not long before the decision to dropout is made) could play an important role (e.g., see Bowers & Sprott, 2012b; America's Promise Alliance, 2014).In addition, even among students already considered at risk when they enter high school, there is considerable heterogeneity in terms of timing and outcomes, with some leaving school later than others and others unexpectedly graduating (Bowers, Sprott, & Taff, 2013;Vitaro, Larocque, Janosz, & Tremblay, 2001). This heterogeneity could be determined in part by circumstances emerging late in students' schooling careers. In fact, improved circumstances in adolescence can close wide achievement gaps established during the elementary school years (Dobbie & Fryer, 2011). Conversely, peak vulnerability could arise when early failure intersects with challenging circumstances in high school, such as when students are under important stress or are offered new opportunities incompatible with schooling (e.g., a full-time job). Attention to such precipitating factors among students following a recognizable long-term problematic path could contribute to a ...

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Double Reference Points: the Effects of Social and Financial Reference Points on Decisions Under Risk

Xie

Wang

et al. 2015

Behavioral Decision Making

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The existing literature is inconsistent about how social comparison affects risk attitudes. We propose a framework where the total utility is composed of the social and financial utilities. The financial utility is consistent with prospect theory (i.e., an S-shaped utility function with a financial reference point), whereas the social utility is affected by both social and financial reference points. Therefore, social risk attitudes are determined by interaction between gains/losses in both social and financial contexts. On the basis of safety-first principle, we propose that when experiencing financial gains, individuals tend to seek upside potential and take social risks (i.e., a convex social utility function). In contrast, when facing financial losses, people would be more risk seeking in social gains but more risk averse in social losses to maximize security (i.e., an inverse S-shaped utility function). We also propose that the relative importance of financial and social utilities depends on the saliency of the reference points and size of stakes. Studies 1 and 2 showed that individuals were risk seeking in both social gains and losses with social reference points alone. Studies 3 and 4 demonstrated that when both financial and social reference points were salient, participants were risk averse in both social gains and losses when facing financial gains, but risk seeking in social gains and risk averse in social losses when facing financial losses. The hypotheses derived from the theoretical framework were in general supported by our experiments. Copyright

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Contextual neglect, self-evaluation, and the frog-pond effect.

Cited by 96 publications

References 37 publications

Social comparisons and organizational support: Implications for commitment and retention

Social comparisons and organizational support: Implications for commitment and retention

Stressors and Turning Points in High School and Dropout

Double Reference Points: the Effects of Social and Financial Reference Points on Decisions Under Risk

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