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Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 21, No. 11, 1200-1209 (1995)
DOI: 10.1177/01461672952111008
© 1995 Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Motives for Social Comparison

Vicki S. Helgeson

Carnegie Mellon University

Kristin D. Mickelson

Carnegie Mellon University

The purpose of this research was to investigate the motives for social comparison. A set of motive statements was elicited from one group of subjects and then rated in terms of usefulness by a second group of subjects who were asked to imagine two hypothetical threats: being diagnosed with cancer and failing an exam. A factor analysis of these statements revealed six motives for social comparison: self-evaluation, common bond, self-improvement, self-enhancement, altruism, and self-destruction. A second study, conducted with subjects actually exposed to threat (i.e., receiving a below average score on relationship aptitude), confirmed the existence of these motives for social comparison. The effects of variables thought to influence the comparison process, such as self-esteem, comparison target, and comparison operationalization, were also examined in relation to comparison motives.


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