Frequent Social Comparisons and Destructive Emotions and Behaviors: The Dark Side of Social Comparisons

Abstract

Social comparisons may seem to serve several positive functions, including self-enhancement. Frequent social comparisons, however, have a dark side. Two studies examined the relationship between frequent social comparisons and destructive emotions and behaviors. In Study 1, people who said they made frequent social comparisons were more likely to experience envy, guilt, regret, and defensiveness, and to lie, blame others, and to have unmet cravings. In Study 2, police officers who said they made frequent social comparisons were more likely to show ingroup bias and to be less satisfied with their jobs. The dark side of frequent social comparisons was not associated with self-esteem. Results are discussed in terms of the role of individual differences in social comparison processes.

The Social Construction of Envy in Scientific Community: An Analysis of Scholarly Psychological Publications

“…Then, about the opposite moral legitimacy of envy we found in our study, research shows that people feeling envy tend to find ways to justify their hostility, such as by making downward comparisons (Gibbons, Gerrard, 1991;Wills, 1981), especially on moral domains (Montaldi, 1999), thus rendering the advantaged person or persons undeserving of their advantage by virtue of their perceived moral failings. This downward comparison process may also be an alternative path from shame in some cases and may contribute to a shame-rage spiral.…”

“…Although motivational variables and various self-serving construals of social comparison information may blunt the perceived effects of social comparisons (Wood, Wilson, 2003), many experiments empirically demonstrated that the perception of unjust treatment leads to negative emotions (Suls, Wheeler, 2000), such as anger (Brown, 1985) and revenge (Kim, Smith, 1993;Kim, Smith, Brigham, 1998). Such subjective sense of injustice predicts not only depressive reactions but also hostility.…”

“…As well as shame, guilt or jealousy, envy is considered as a potentially problematic social emotion for both individual adjustment and interpersonal behavior (Tangney, Salovey, 1999). Indeed, it may lead to sacrifice one's own outcomes to diminish a competitor's relative advantage (Berke, 1988;Parks, Rumble, Posey, 2002;Thernstrom, 1998;Zizzo, Oswald, 2001), criminal behavior (Schoeck, 1969) or ingroup biases White et al, 2006). However, despite the fact that envy refers to a destructive and antisocial attitude, stigmatized in all cultures as a deadly sin, such a widespread feeling is also recognized as necessary to the existence of society, to its development and to the establishment of social relations (de Gaulejac, 1997).…”

Upward, Downward, and Horizontal Social Comparisons: Effects on Adjustment, Emotions, and Persistence in Teachers

“…As an essential component of human socialization, comparing oneself with others is typically an adaptive process involving both an active search for self-relevant information about others, as well as selective affiliation (Buunk & Mussweiler, 2001;Taylor & Lobel, 1989). According to Festinger (1954), individuals seek out information about others primarily to facilitate accurate self-evaluation (Suls et al, 2002;Taylor & Lobel, 1989), with the resulting contrasts leading to specific psychological and behavioral consequences (e.g., affect : Smith, 2000;White, Langer, Yariv, & Welch, 2006;motivation: Bailis, Chipperfield, & Perry, 2005;achievement, Blanton, Buunk, Gibbons, & Kuyper, 1999). Nevertheless, research in this domain also highlights the importance of individual differences and demographic factors in social comparisons processes (e.g., achievement goal orientation, Butler, 1992;emotions, Lyubomirsky, & Ross, 1997;self-construal, Stapel & Koomen, 2001; employment status, Sheeran, Abrams, & Orbell, 1995).…”

Concepções de mindfulness em Langer e Kabat-Zinn: um encontro da ciência Ocidental com a espiritualidade Oriental

“…Comparações de si com outras pessoas, quando ocorrem frequentemente e de modo automático, promovem inveja, culpa e atitudes defensivas desnecessárias que tornam ainda mais rígido o conceito de si (White et al, 2006). Sem uma noção clara do que se está fazendo, corre-se o risco de desconsiderar dimensões éticas importantes do comportamento.…”