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Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol. 31, No. 11, 1561-1572 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0146167205277092
© 2005 Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

How I See Me Depends on How I See We: The Role of Attachment Style in Social Comparison

Shira Gabriel

Mauricio Carvallo

State University of New York at Buffalo

Kristy K. Dean

Northwestern University

Brooke Tippin

Jeanette Renaud

Research Triangle Institute

The self-concept is a social, flexible construct that shifts in response to the salience of a relationship partner. Three related experiments found that the tendency to pursue closeness in relationships (as measured by attachment style) served as a moderator of the shift. Specifically, individuals who avoid closeness in relationships became less similar to salient friends via contrast effects, whereas those who pursued closeness in relationships became more similar to salient friends via assimilation effects. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the nature of the self-concept and the importance of friendships.

Key Words: self-concept • friendship • social comparison • attachment style • close relationships


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