Social Comparison

The Social Comparison information handout explores a common cognitive distortion whereby individuals compare themselves with others, negatively impacting their mood and mental health.

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Professional version

Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.

Client version

Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.

Overview

Social comparison is a normal, often automatic process where individuals evaluate themselves against others. While upward comparisons can lead to self-improvement motivations, they can also highlight perceived flaws, leading to distress. This resource describes the evolutionary and theoretical aspects of social comparison, illustrating how such comparisons, when biased, contribute to psychological issues.

Designed as part of the cognitive distortions series, it helps clients notice and address unhelpful, automatic social comparisons.

Why Use This Resource?

Social comparison is a common cognitive distortion that can impact mental health. This resource aids clients in:

  • Understanding social comparison.
  • Identifying unhelpful comparison-making.
  • Implementing interventions to address social comparisons.

Key Benefits

Structured

Offers clear guidelines for identifying and addressing unhelpful comparisons.

Relatable

Provides examples of comparison-making.

Comprehensive

Describes both the adaptive and maladaptive facets of social comparison.

Practical

Includes strategies for therapeutic interventions.

Who is this for?

Depression

Clients frequently making negative social comparisons impacting their mood.

Body Image Problems

Addressing appearance-related concerns resulting from body comparisons.

Eating Disorders

Targeting social comparisons that exacerbate disordered eating.

Practical

Helping clients manage distress stemming from perceived social inadequacies.

Integrating it into your practice

01

Educate

Provide clients with psychoeducation on the nature of social comparison.

02

Identify

Recognize automatic social comparisons through self-monitoring.

03

Decenter

Encourage clients to view comparisons as cognitive events.

04

Address

Help clients address comparison-making, such as through less selective comparisons.

Theoretical Background & Therapist Guidance

Social comparison, an evolutionary rooted behavior, helps individuals assess their standing within social hierarchies. Originating from survival strategies across species, it is instrumental in determining self-evaluation and adjustment strategies.

Festinger’s social comparison theory (1954) highlights the drive for self-evaluation and the impact of various comparison types—lateral, upward, and downward—on self-perceptions. Modern perspectives suggest multifaceted motives behind comparisons, influencing self-image positivity or negativity.

In therapy, clinicians should emphasize metacognitive strategies and balanced assessments to counteract the impact of biased comparisons and reduce distress.

What's inside

  • An accessible overview of problematic comparison-making.
  • A detailed account of cognitive distortions, including social comparison.
  • Strategies for addressing biased comparisons in therapy.
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FAQs

Social comparison involves evaluating oneself against others. It can be adaptive but becomes problematic when biased, leading to distorted self-perceptions.
Unlike inherently maladaptive biases like catastrophizing, social comparison can be beneficial but risky when consistently leading to negative appraisals.
Therapists can use psychoeducation, self-monitoring, and behavioral experiments to help clients identify, understand, and modify harmful comparison habits.
Yes, social comparison has deep evolutionary roots, helping individuals navigate social hierarchies and optimize survival and adaptive strategies.

How This Resource Improves Clinical Outcomes

This resource enhances therapeutic outcomes by:

  • Increasing awareness of social comparison-making.
  • Providing interventions to address biased comparisons.
  • Promoting self-awareness and reduced engagement in biased thinking patterns.

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References And Further Reading

  • Antony, M. M., Rowa, K., Liss, A., Swallow, S. R., & Swinson, R. P. (2005). Social comparison processes in social phobia. Behavior Therapy, 36, 65–75. DOI: 10.1016/S0005-7894(05)80055-3.
  • Beck, A. T. (1963). Thinking and depression: I. Idiosyncratic content and cognitive distortions. Archives of General Psychiatry, 9, 324-333. DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.1963.01720160014002.
  • Beck, A. T., Freeman, A., Davis, D. D., & Associates. (2004). Cognitive therapy of personality disorders (2nd ed). New York: The Guilford Press.
  • Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive–behavioral therapy of depression. Guilford Press.
  • Beck, J. S. (1995). Cognitive therapy: Basics and beyond. Guilford Press.
  • Buunk, B. P., Collins, R. L., Taylor, S. E., VanYperen, N. W., & Dakof, G. A. (1990). The affective consequences of social comparison: either direction has its ups and downs. Journal of Personality and Social psychology, 59, 1238-1249. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.59.6.1238.
  • Buunk, A. P., & Gibbons, F. X. (2006). Social comparison orientation: A new perspective on those who do and those who don’t compare with others. In: S. Guimond (Ed.), Social comparison and social psychology: Understanding cognition, intergroup relations, and culture (pp. 15–32). Cambridge University Press.
  • Collins, R. L. (1996). For better or worse: The impact of upward social comparison on self-evaluations. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 51–69. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.119.1.51.
  • Corning, A. F., Krumm, A. J., & Smitham, L. A. (2006). Differential social comparison processes in women with and without eating disorder symptoms. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53, 338-349. DOI: 10.1037/0022-0167.53.3.338.
  • Dijkstra, P., Gibbons, F. X., & Buunk, A. P. (2010). Social comparison theory. In J. E. Maddux & J. P. Tangney (Eds.), Social psychological foundations of clinical psychology (pp. 195–211). Guilford Press.
  • Egan, S. J., Wade, T. D., Shafran, R., & Antony, M. M. (2014). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of perfectionism. Guilford Press.
  • Emert, S. E., Gunn, H. E., Molzof, H. E., Dietch, J. R., & Lichstein, K. L. (2021). Appraisals of insomnia identity in a clinical sample. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 145, 103943. DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2021.103943.
  • Fairburn, C. G. (2008). Cognitive behavior therapy and eating disorders. Guilford Press.
  • Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human relations, 7, 117-140. DOI: 10.1177/001872675400700202.
  • Gilbert, P. (1998). The evolved basis and adaptive functions of cognitive distortions. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 71, 447-463. DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8341.1998.tb01002.x.
  • Gilbert, P. (2017). Compassion as a social mentality: An evolutionary approach. In: P. Gilbert (Ed.), Compassion: Concepts, research, and applications (pp.31-68). Routledge.
  • Gilbert, P., Price, J., & Allan, S. (1995). Social comparison, social attractiveness and evolution: How might they be related? New Ideas in Psychology, 13, 149-165. DOI: 10.1016/0732-118X(95)00002-X.
  • Higgins, E. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: a theory relating self and affect. Psychological review, 94, 319-340.
  • Hooberman, J., Rosenfeld, B., Rasmussen, A., & Keller, A. (2010). Resilience in trauma-exposed refugees: The moderating effect of coping style on resilience variables. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80, 557–563. DOI: 10.1111/j.1939-0025.2010.01060.x
  • Krizan, Z., & Bushman, B. J. (2011). Better than my loved ones: Social comparison tendencies among narcissists. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 212-216. DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2010.09.031.
  • Laker, V., & Waller, G. (2020). The development of a body comparison measure: The CoSS. Eating and Weight Disorders-Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 25, 879-888. DOI: 10.1007/s40519-019-00698-5.
  • Noël, V. A., Francis, S. E., Williams-Outerbridge, K., & Fung, S. L. (2012). Catastrophizing as a predictor of depressive and anxious symptoms in children. Cognitive therapy and research, 36, 311-320. DOI: 10.1007/s10608-011-9370-2.
  • Santor, D. A., & Yazbek, A. A. (2006). Soliciting unfavourable social comparison: Effects of self-criticism. Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 545–556. DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2005.06.029.
  • Shafran, R., Thordarson, D. S., & Rachman, S. (1996). Thought-action fusion in obsessive compulsive disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 10, 379-391. DOI: 10.1016/0887-6185(96)00018-7.
  • Swallow, S. R., & Kuiper, N. A. (1988). Social comparison and negative self-evaluations: An application to depression. Clinical Psychology Review, 8, 55-76. DOI: 10.1016/0272-7358(88)90049-9.
  • Veen, G., & Arntz, A. (2000). Multidimensional dichotomous thinking characterizes borderline personality disorder. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 24, 23-45. DOI: 10.1023/A:1005498824175.
  • Vohs, K. D., & Heatherton, T. F. (2004). Ego threat elicits different social comparison processes among high and low self-esteem people: Implications for interpersonal perceptions. Social cognition, 22(1: Special issue), 168-191. DOI: 10.1521/soco.22.1.168.30983.
  • Waller, G., Turner, H. M., Tatham, M., Mountford, V. A., & Wade, T. D. (2019). Brief cognitive behavioural therapy for non-underweight patients: CBT-T for eating disorders. Routledge.
  • Wetherall, K., Robb, K. A. and O’Connor, R. C. (2019) Social rank theory of depression: A systematic review of self-perceptions of social rank and their relationship with depressive symptoms and suicide risk. Journal of Affective Disorders, 246, 300-319. DOI:10.1016/j.jad.2018.12.045.

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