“…Following from related social-psychological traditions concerning need for affiliation (Murray, 1938), social support (Cohen & McKay, 1984), Self-Determination Theory (relatedness; Ryan & Deci, 2000), and Attachment Theory (Bowlby, 1951(Bowlby, , 2008, findings consistently demonstrate the importance of perceived belongingness and closeness with similar others (for reviews, see Bergin & Bergin, 2009;Niemiec & Ryan, 2009). In educational settings, findings further show students who perceive closeness, relatedness, and support from peers to demonstrate better psychological, behavioral, and academic outcomes (e.g., Freeman, Anderman, & Jensen, 2007;Furrer & Skinner, 2003;Goodenow, 1993;Locke, 2003;Van Ryzin, Gravely, & Roseth, 2009). However, although related constructs such as collective self-esteem have also been found to predict better psychological adjustment in adult populations (e.g., Bailis, Chipperfield, & Helgason, 2008;Crocker, Luhtanen, Blaine, & Broadmax, 1994), the extent to which teachers strategically compare themselves with similar others in response to teachingrelated challenges has yet to be examined.…”