Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Assessment of Social Transmission of Food Preferences Behaviors
Published on: January 25, 2018
"She got more than me". Social comparison and the social context of eating
Janet Polivy1, Patricia Pliner1
1University of Toronto, Canada.
Abstract:
Eating is a social activity for most people. Other people influence what and how much an individual chooses and eats. Such social influence on eating has long been recognized and studied, but we contend here that one important social influence factor, social comparison, has been largely overlooked by researchers. We review the literature on comparing oneself to others on eating and weight-related dimensions, which appears to have an effect not only on eating per se, but also on self-image, body dissatisfaction, and emotions. Social comparison processes may well underlie many of the social influence findings discussed in this special issue.
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