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Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
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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.

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