Social comparison The end of a theory and the emergenceof a field.pdf

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 102 (2007) 3–21 /locate/obhdpSocial comparison: The end of a theory and the emergence of a Weld Abraham P. Buunk a, Frederick X. Gibbons b,¤ a University of Groningen, Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Groningen, The Netherlands b Iowa State University, Department of Psychology, Ames, IA 50011-3180, United States Received 26 July 2005 Abstract The past and current states of research on social comparison are reviewed with regard to a series of major theoretical develop- ments that have occurred in the past 5 decades. These are, in chronological order: (1) classic social comparison theory, (2) fear-aYli- ation theory, (3) downward comparison theory, (4) social comparison as social cognition, and (5) individual diVerences in social comparison. In addition, we discuss a number of expansions of research on social comparison as they are currently occurring, and we outline what we see as likely and desirable future directions, including an expansion of areas, methods, and conceptualizations, as well as a stronger focus on cognitive, neuroscientiWc, and evolutionary aspects of social comparison. ? 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Social comparison theory; New developments; Theory evolutionIt has been widely acknowledged that social compari- son is a central feature of human social life. Even more so, according to Gilbert, Price, and Allan (1995), the need to compare the self with others is found in many other species as well, and has evolved as a very adaptive mechanism for sizing up one’s competitors. With respect to humans, theorizing and research on social compari- son can be traced to some of the classic contributions to Western philosophy (Suls & Wheeler, 2000). In the social sciences, the notion that comparisons with others play an important role in evaluating and constructing social reality goes back to the seminal work of Sherif (1936), who showed that two individuals who face th