Social Comparison and Social Psychology : Understanding Cognition, Intergroup Relations, and Culture

Much of our knowledge about ourselves, and about the world in which we live, is based on a process of social comparison. Our tendency to appraise events, objects, people, and social groups by making comparisons has captured the interest of social psychologists for over half a century. This volume provides an up-to-date synthesis of the latest theoretical and empirical developments in social psychology through research on social comparison processes. With chapters by leading theorists and internationally renowned researchers, it provides invaluable information on the role of this process of comparison as it occurs within a single individual over time, between individuals, and between social groups. It also features an original international study testing the universality of the effects of social comparison on the self. This book will appeal to scholars and students alike and will serve as an important reference for the study of cognition, intergroup relations and culture.