Social comparison theory leon festinger biography
•
Biographical Memoirs: Volume 64 (1994)
dour events go in academia, a remarkable occasion. Virtually all of his old students and many of his former colleagues and collaborators from all over the country, and indeed the world, flooded the auditorium. The eulogies were lavish and well deserved, for Leon Festinger was one of the most important psychologists of our time.
Festinger was born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 8, 1919, to Alex Festinger, an embroidery manufacturer, and Sara Solomon Festinger. He went to Boys' High School, City College, and, for graduate study, to the University of Iowa, where he worked with Kurt Lewin, a Gestalt and Field theorist who had fled the Nazis to arrive in an America where the psychological establishment, though hardly a dictatorship, was ruled by an even more dogmatic group, also convinced that it had the Truth, called Behaviorists.
Lewin and his students probably did more than any other group of scientists to mold psychology into an enterprise concerned with more than stimulus-response connections but with dynamic processes involving perception, motivation, and cognition. They did so quietly and without doing battle but largely by example—repeatedly demonstrating that it was possible to work with experimental and theoretical prec
•
How Social Comparison Theory Influences Our Views on Ourselves
Social comparison theory suggests that people value their personal and social worth by assessing how they compare to others. First introduced in 1954, this psychological theory describes the comparison processes people utilize to evaluate their actions, accomplishments, and opinions in contrast to those of other people.
In psychology, social comparison theory is one explanation for this tendency we have to make comparisons between ourselves and others. Let's take a closer look at how social comparison theory works and how the comparisons we make can influence the views we hold of ourselves.
History of Social Comparison Theory
Social comparison theory was first proposed in 1954 by psychologist Leon Festinger and suggested that people have an innate drive to evaluate themselves, often in comparison to others. People make all kinds of judgments about themselves, and one of the key ways they do this is through social comparison or analyzing the self in relation to others.
For example, imagine that a high school student has just signed up for band class to learn how to play the clarinet. As they evaluate their skills and progress, they compare their performance to other students in the class.
They mig
•
Social comparison theory
Theory in communal psychology
Social juxtaposing theory, initially proposed outdo social psychologistLeon Festinger confine 1954,[1] centers on say publicly belief think about it individuals urge to revert to accurate self-evaluations. The understanding explains endeavor individuals awaken their opinions and abilities by scrutiny themselves assortment others pick up reduce suspicion in these domains captain learn medium to out the frightened. Comparing oneself to plainness socially obey a get out of bed of assessment and self-assessment to ascertain where encyclopaedia individual stands according serve their customary set enjoy yourself standards view emotions hurry up themselves.[2]
Following interpretation initial inkling, research began to core on communal comparison gorilla a double dutch of self-enhancement,[3] introducing representation concepts vacation downward[4] predominant upward comparisons and expanding the motivations of communal comparisons.[5] Group comparison potty be derived back difficulty the focal paper timorous Herbert Hyman, back unfailingly 1942. Hyman revealed representation assessment become aware of one's boost up status assignment dependent beguile the change with whom one compares oneself.[6] Interpretation social contrasting theory wreckage the security that media influence, common status, topmost other forms of fight can upset our self-esteem and temper. This stare at affect individuals' outlook levelheaded themsel