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Group membership and everyday social comparison experiences
European Journal of Social Psychology
|May 13, 2006
Summary
Everyday social comparisons rarely focus on group identity. However, ethnic minority students who strongly identify with their group report more ethnicity-based social comparisons.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Group Dynamics
- Intergroup Relations
Background:
- Social comparison theory posits individuals evaluate themselves by comparing to others.
- Group membership is a fundamental aspect of social identity and can influence social comparisons.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the extent to which everyday social comparisons are influenced by group membership.
- To explore differences in social comparison framing between a general undergraduate population and ethnic minority undergraduates.
Main Methods:
- Two experience sampling studies were conducted with United States undergraduates.
- Participants completed questionnaires about their social comparison experiences in real-time.
Main Results:
- Ingroup-outgroup comparisons constituted less than 10% of all reported social comparisons.
- Ethnic minority students with higher ethnic identification reported more ethnicity-related social comparisons.
Conclusions:
- Group membership plays a limited role in spontaneous, everyday social comparisons for most undergraduates.
- Stronger identification with an ethnic group increases the salience of ethnicity in social comparison processes for minority individuals.
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