1990/01/01 by Bram P. Buunk, Rebecca L. Collins, Shelley E. Taylor +2 · 843 citations
Arts and Humanities · Psychology · #Affect (linguistics) #Behavioral Health and Interventions #Clinical psychology #Coping (psychology) #Developmental psychology #Feeling #Media Influence and Health #Perception #Psychological and Temporal Perspectives Research #Psychology #Self-esteem #Social comparison theory #Social perception #Social psychology
paper · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.59.6.1238
published in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 59(6), 1238-1249 (American Psychological Association)
openalex publication_date 1990/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
Research on social comparison processes has assumed that a comparison in a given direction (upward or downward) will lead to a particular affective reaction. In contrast, the present two studies proposed and found that a comparison can produce either positive or negative feelings about oneself, independent of its direction. Several factors moderated the tendency to derive positive or negative affect from upward and downward comparisons. In Study 1, cancer patients low in self-esteem and with low perceived control over their symptoms and illness were more likely to see downward comparisons as having negative implications for themselves. Those low in self-esteem were also more likely to perceive upward comparisons as negative. In Study 2, individuals with high marital dissatisfaction and those who felt uncertain about their marital relationship were more likely to experience negative affect from upward and downward comparisons. The implications of these findings for social comparison theory and for the coping and adaptation literature are discussed.