Communal Functions of Social Comparison

This volume identifies research relevant to communal functions of social comparisons and organizes this research within a coherent conceptual framework.

Zlatan Križan (Edited by), Frederick X. Gibbons (Edited by)

9781108701358, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 15 November 2018

268 pages, 3 b/w illus. 2 tables
23 x 15.1 x 1.4 cm, 0.4 kg

'This book takes a distinguished line of research in a new direction, emphasizing how social comparisons affect the group as well as the individual. Križan and Gibbons have done a good job of organizing the volume: it provides a multifaceted view of social comparison, showing how social comparisons can lead to disparities and group tensions but may also enhance bonding between individuals and groups. Communal Functions of Social Comparison should be read by clinical psychologists, social psychologists, and anyone whose work involves group processes. Both graduate students and seasoned researchers will find this book a rich source of ideas.' Thomas A. Wills, University of Hawaii Cancer Center

The extent to which we see ourselves as similar or different from others in our lives plays a key role in getting along and participating in social life. This volume identifies research relevant to such communal functions of social comparisons and summarizes and organizes this research within a single, coherent conceptual framework. The volume provides an important addition to current thinking about social comparison, which has often neglected communal and affiliative functions. Whereas human desire to compare with others has traditionally been viewed as motivated by self-centered needs such as self-evaluation, self-enhancement, and self-improvement, this book presents an eclectic cross-section of research that illuminates connective, cooperative, and participatory functions of social comparisons. In this vein, the book aims both to expose research on currently neglected functions of social comparisons and to motivate a broader theoretical integration of social comparison processes.

Introduction. Communion in social comparison - back to the roots Zlatan Križan and Frederick X. Gibbons
Part I. Core Considerations: 1. Agency and communion in social comparisons Kenneth D. Locke
2. Social comparison in identity theory Jan E. Stets and Peter J. Burke
3. When comparisons divide: invidious emotions and their social control Zlatan Križan and Richard H. Smith
Part II. Individual Level: 4. Sparing others through social comparison Anne L. Zell and Julie Juola Exline
5. Social comparisons within romantic relationships Penelope Lockwood and Rebecca T. Pinkus
Part III. Group Level: 6. Prototype-based social comparison within groups: constructing social identity to reduce self-uncertainty Michael A. Hogg and Amber M. Gaffney
7. Bonding, hiding and promoting: three reactions to shared threat Hart Blanton, Melissa Burkley and Edward Burkley
Part IV. Sociocultural Level: 8. Basic principles of social comparison: does gender matter? Serge Guimond and Armand Chatard
9. Culture and self-worth: implications for social comparison processes and coping with threats to self-worth Joni Y. Sasaki, Deborah M. Ko and Heejung S. Kim.

Subject Areas: The self, ego, identity, personality [JMS], Social, group or collective psychology [JMH], Psychology [JM]