Leon festinger, an introduction to the theory of cognitive. There exists, in the human organism, a drive to evaluate his opinions and his abilities. If you have access to a journal via a society or association membership, please browse to your society journal, select an article to view, and follow the instructions in this box. This work is a clearly stated theory on how humans think, decide, and defend their decisions. A theory of cognitive dissonance by festinger, leon, 19191989.
Social comparison theory festinger was the first to coin the term social comparison however, the general concepts can be traced back to aristotle and plato. While opinions and abilities may, at first glance, seem to be quite different things, there is a close functional tie between them. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. December 25, 2014 follow scirp home about scirp service policies. Leon festinger, 1954 theory of social comparison wild. The marketing studies cited have assumed the motive for comparison to be selfevaluation, as originally proposed by festinger 1954. The concept of social comparison was first introduced by festinger 1954 who postulated that seeking comparisons. The leon festinger papers document the career of one of the leading psychologists of our time. However, in the three decades since the publication of this work, social comparison theory has evolved in several ways.
Pdf social comparison theory entry for encyclopedia of. In the early 1950s, the behavioral sciences division of the ford foundation gave leon festinger a grant, which was part of the program of the laboratory for research in social relations. A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger. Theory and experiment in social communication festinger, leon on. Social comparison and the beauty of advertising models. Such theories and hypotheses in the area of social psychology are frequently. In accordance with festinger 1954, the questionnaire developed by gibbo 1999 differentiates between two dimensions of social comparisons that their underlying nature. Download a theory of social comparison processes leon festinger book pdf free download link or read online here in pdf. The factor loadings are, however, less discriminant than theoretically expected. According to social comparison theory festinger, we compare ourselves to others in order to evaluate the opinions, abilities and our inner states, especially when there is no objective criterion for evaluation. He taught at numerous us university including stanford university. Leon festinger 1954 different types of comparison we use objective criteria when available o how tall am i how much do i weigh how fast did i run.
Read online a theory of social comparison processes leon festinger book pdf free download link book now. You can be signed in via any or all of the methods shown below at the same time. In the rest of the book many behavioural facts supporting the theory are put forward. As such, this study examines the role of motives in social comparison. Write about the interaction between affect and social comparison. View social network theory research papers on academia. Network theory notes pdf nt pdf notes nt notes pdf file to download are listed below please check it link. In a time of abundant information, the risk of picking up only those data that support our previous convictions is always there. Think of a situation in which your assigned derivation might happen in the real life of youth.
Unfortunately, this book cant be printed from the openbook. While this seems cut and dry, the theory expands far beyond the constraints of the. Social comparison theory, based on ones drive for selfevaluation, was first coined by leon festinger 1954. According to leon festingeras 1954 social comparison theory, we have a need to evaluate our opinions and abilities, to figure out our strengths and weaknesses, in order to have an accurate view of ourselves. Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal. According to the social comparison theory festinger 1954, such comparison is often downward, as individuals are inclined to think that they are smarter, better off, and more fortunate than most other people. Social comparison orientation as related to two types of closeness. For this, we are indebted to festinger 1954, whose influential theory of social comparison introduced over a half century ago subsequently gave rise to more. This article is from frontiers in psychology, volume 5. They act together in the manner in which they affect behavior. People tend to compete with those with similar status to themselves, and not with those much higher or lower than themselves. A theory of social comparison processes, retrieved september 12, 2007, from hum. Qualifying exams social psychology flashcards quizlet. The field is too large for a single individual to master.
Social comparison theory has evolved considerably since festinger 1954 originally proposed it. Social comparison theory an overview sciencedirect topics. This may occur with reference to a physical reality. We are more likely to engage in social comparison when. In this paper we shall present a further development of a previously published theory concerning.
Broadening the scope of the essay in this way raises a number of problems. The social comparison theory was developed by social psychologist leon festinger. A theory of social comparison processes leon festinger, 1954. Access to society journal content varies across our titles. The theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others in order to reduce uncertainty in these domains, and learn how to define the self. One aspect of the theory that has yet to be systematically studied is the motive for comparison. As earlier mentioned, social comparison theory festinger, 1954 posits that individuals have a natural drive to compare their own attributes and abilities with the abilities and attributes of others. The theory of dissonance is here applied to the problem of why partial reward, delay of reward, and effort expenditure during training result in increased resistance to extinction. A theory of cognitive dissonance by festinger abebooks. Festingers social comparison theory provides an important rationale for how individuals come to know themselves. In this theory, it simply asserts that the process in which people learn about themselves by comparing themselves to other members of society. Social comparison orientation as related to two types of. Social comparison theory essay sample free college essay. The members of this group conducted a program of research, including two field studies and a number of laboratory experiments, in the area of social communication.
Learn social comparison with free interactive flashcards. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Leon festinger was a hugely inspirational social psychologist, and is best known for his theory of cognitive dissonance. In the absence of both a physical and a social comparison, subjective. Social comparison theory assumes that people tend to evaluate their successes, failures and opinions in relation to others festinger, 1954. After four decades of research, the topic of social comparison is more popular than ever.
When people evaluate the potential effect of media, they also estimate themselves as much more resistant to media influence park and salmon 2005. According to the social comparison theory festinger 1954. However, the term social comparison was first proposed by festinger 1954. Keeping up with the joneses affects perceptions of distributive justice pdf. A theory of cognitive dissonance by leon, festinger and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
Social comparison theory, initially proposed by social psychologist leon festinger in 1954. Social learning theory is a theory of learning process and social behavior which proposes that new behaviors can be acquired by observing and imitating others. These notes are according to the r09 syllabus book of jntu. It states that learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context and can occur purely through observation or direct instruction, even in the absence of motor reproduction or direct reinforcement. In this paper we shall present a further development of a previously published theory concerning opinion influence processes in social groups 7. We draw not only on research that has directly examined competition but also on studies in social comparison and related fields that have significant implications for its analysis. This is chapter one of leon festinger, a theory of cognitive dissonance. Introduction to social network theory charles kadushin.
Social network theory is one of the few if perhaps the only theory in social science that is not reductionist. Leon festingers theory of cognitive dissonance has been widely recognized for its important and influential concepts in areas of motivation and social psychology. Leon festingers social comparison theory the psychology. The theory applies to a variety of levels of analysis from small groups to entire global systems. Festingers social comparison theory psychology essay. Since festingers 1957 presentation of dissonance theory, considerable attention has been given to the proposal that counterattitudinal behavior can lead to attitude change. Choose from 431 different sets of social comparison flashcards on quizlet. All books are in clear copy here, and all files are secure so dont worry about it. Here are presented all the main aspects of the theory. Festinger 1954 with others who are more similar to us on the.
This paper furthers festingers views on group influences of opinions and applies it to abilities as well. Social comparison theory and drive for self evaluation. Originally developed by leon festinger 1954, social comparison theory is. As proofs use only nitely many assumptions from tthere is a nite inconsistent subset of t. This book compiles findings from the research center for group dynamics at the university of michigan. A theory of social comparison processes center for human science. If you need to print pages from this book, we recommend downloading it as a pdf. Social comparison theory why dont we use objective criteria. The old one states that members of a particular group would want to be parallel with each other because a uniform agreement must be made so that the group is able to come up with a common decision. Pdf on jan 2, 2018, j p gerber and others published social comparison theory entry for encyclopedia of personality and individual differences find, read and cite all the research you need on.
In order to achieve the most objective information should compare ourselves to people who are less or more at our level, but we tend to compare ourselves to people. Abstract the agenda in music research that is broadly recognized as embodied music cognition has arrived handinhand with a social interpretation of music, focusing on the realworld basis of its performance, and fostering an empirical approach to musician movement regarding the communicative function and potential of those movements. Social comparison theory, initially proposed by social psychologist leon festinger in 1954, centers on the belief that there is a drive within individuals to gain accurate selfevaluations. Festingers social comparison theory provides an important. Network theory notes pdf nt notes pdf notes smartzworld. The first factor reflects comparisons of abilities, whereas the second factor reflects consideration of and comparison with others opinions. A theory of social comparison processes, retrieved. In r and r15,8units of r09 syllabus are combined into 5units in r and r15 syllabus. Festinger based his theory on nine hypotheses see table 4. Show full abstract these terms, classical social comparison theory is found wanting in two respects. Leon festinger social comparison theory people need to compare their abilities against those of others. In this timely handbook a distinguished roster of researchers and theoreticians describe where the field has been since its. Theory and experiment in social communication festinger.
Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or. Sign in here to access free tools such as favourites and alerts, or to access. When psychologists think of social comparison theory, they initially recall leon festinger s classic paper on a theory of social comparison processes. Although i have been reading reasonably widely in social theory for the. From this grant, he was able to write his first document on the social comparison theory and published it in the journal of human relations in 1954. To be sure, there are emergent properties at different system levels, but these are extensions of. Cognitive dissonance 2 theory paper cognitive dissonance cognitive dissonance is defined by influential psychologist leon festinger as an antecedent condition which leads to activity oriented toward dissonance reduction festinger, 1957, p. A persons cognition his opinions and beliefs about the situation in which he exists and his. Explain how the social comparison findings, methodology, and theorizing have evolved since the publication of leon festingers theory in 1954. This compilation presents the reports of the laboratory studies together with a theoretical orientation of the work that has been. Use of social comparisons in interviews about young adults. Such attitude change, according to the theory, represents an attempt on the part of the individual to reduce the inconsistency or dissonance among his cognitions. An important question when we try to axiomatize the properties of a structure is whether we have said everything we can say. Comparison of objects, events, and situations is integral to judgment.
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