In the context of the social network service environment, we explore how discrete emotions—envy and shame, in particular—may mediate the effects of social comparison on behavior intention and psychological responses. Based on the survey responses of 446 university students, the results suggest that social comparison to media figures correlates with a range of emotional responses as well as with...

In 1954, Leon Festinger published “A Theory of Social Comparison Processes,” the first formal treatment of the psychology underlying individuals’ tendencies to compare with one another. This ambitious work (which contained no less than nine hypotheses, eight corollaries, and eight derivations thereof) initiated a highly productive and influential line of conceptual development and psychological...

Asperger’s Disorder (AD) is a pervasive developmental disorder in which individuals show impairment in social skills by engaging in eccentric behavior, which leads to social isolation and rejection. Social Phobia (SP) is a disorder in which individuals report excessive anxiety while in social situations, resulting in significant distress and avoidance of social situations. A diagnosis of either...

Social comparison pervades our interactions with others, informing us of our standing and motivating improvement, but producing negative emotional and behavioral consequences that can harm relationships and lead to poor health outcomes. Social neuroscience research has begun to illuminate some mechanisms by which status divides lead to interpersonal consequences. This review integrates core fin...

This study explores the relative contribution of the overall quality of attachment to the mother, to the father and to peers (Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment scales), the style of attachment towards peers (Attachment Questionnaire for Children scale), the social rank variables (submissive behavior and social comparison), and sex and age variables in predicting the depression score (Cent...

The authors suggest that social comparison research has neglected communal feelings and concerns because it typically asks participants to compare objective characteristics that invite evaluative rankings (e.g., test scores) with acquaintances or strangers without any interaction. The authors asked 138 undergraduates to record their spontaneous social comparisons for 1 week; they found that par...