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Self-evaluation maintenance in a larger social context
1Department of Psychology, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795, USA. cjpilk@wm.edu
The British Journal of Social Psychology
|July 25, 2000
Summary
People adjust self-relevance of activities based on performance relative to close others. This research extends the Self-evaluation Maintenance (SEM) model to understand social comparison effects on self-perception.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Self-Perception Theory
Background:
- The Self-evaluation Maintenance (SEM) model explains how individuals maintain self-esteem through social comparison.
- Previous research primarily focused on comparisons with one other person.
Purpose of the Study:
- To extend the SEM model by incorporating comparisons with two close others.
- To investigate how intermediate performances influence self-definition and activity relevance.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted to test the extended SEM model.
- Participants' self-reported relevance of activities was assessed based on performance relative to two close others.
Main Results:
- Outperforming both close others led to moderate or high self-relevance.
- Being outperformed by both close others resulted in low self-relevance.
- Mixed performance outcomes or uncertainty attenuated relevance ratings to protect self-evaluations.
Conclusions:
- The SEM model effectively extends to social networks involving multiple close others.
- Self-perception is dynamically influenced by comparative performance within one's social circle.
- Attenuating relevance is a key self-protective mechanism in complex social comparison scenarios.