Social Comparison, Judgment, and Behavior

Comparison with other people, a core element of social life, influences self-concept, attitudes, conformity, psychological and physical well-being, achievement, educational outcomes, and social movements. Social comparison has become particularly salient as social and income inequalities have been increasingly recognized in the United States and elsewhere globally.

This volume presents classic and state-of-the-science chapters by leading experts that survey the major areas of social comparison theory and research. Authored by noted experts, the volume is divided into three sections: Basic Comparison Processes, Neighboring Fields, and Applications. The first section is comprised of chapters that update classic theories and present contemporary advances, such as the dominating effect of local versus global comparisons, an analysis of the psychology of competition, how comparisons across different domains influence self-concept and achievement, and the integral connections between stereotyping and comparison. The second section introduces perspectives from related fields, such as the decision and network sciences, that shed new light on social comparison. The third section focuses on practical applications of comparison, including relative deprivation, health psychology, the effects of income inequality on well-being, and the relationship of power to comparison. This volume is a must-read for anyone interested in the field of social comparison and its implications for everyday life.

Jerry Suls received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Temple University in 1973, and subsequently held faculty positions at Georgetown University, the State University of New York at Albany, and the University of Iowa. Formerly the Editor of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (1998-2001) and Social and Personality Psychology Compass (2006-13), he has served on numerous editorial boards and panels. His research has appeared in more than 230 publications and been supported by the National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, National Science Foundation, and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In 2012, he received the Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award from APA Division 38 (Society for Health Psychology). Currently, Currently, he is an Investigator in the Center for Personalized Health at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in New York City.

Rebecca L. Collins received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1989. She is Senior Behavioral Scientist at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, CA. For the past two decades, she has examined how comparison and related processes influence substance use and sexual risk behavior among adolescents, young adults, sexual minorities, and individuals living with HIV infection. Currently, she is studying the effectiveness of social marketing campaigns designed to increase treatment seeking for mental health problems. Her research has appeared on the Today Show, CNN, and NBC Nightly News and has been featured in Time Magazine, The New York Times, the Washington Post, and USA Today.

Ladd Wheeler received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1962. His major research interests included social comparison theory, behavioral contagion, attractiveness, and social interaction. He pioneered the use of the rank-order paradigm and diary methods in social comparison research, such as the Rochester Interaction Record and the Social Comparison record. He was president of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology and the founding editor of the Review of Personality and Social Psychology. He passed away in 2018.