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The social comparison theory

The social comparison theory - our beliefs conflicts with...

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The social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) is the idea that there is a drive within individuals to look to outside images in order to evaluate their own opinions and abilities. These images may be a reference to physical reality or in comparison to other people. People look to the images portrayed by others to be obtainable and realistic, and subsequently, make comparisons among themselves, others and the idealized images. Leon Festinger is perhaps best known for his theory of cognitive dissonance . According to this theory, people experience tension or discomfort when their beliefs do not match their behaviors. People tend to seek consistency in their beliefs and perceptions. So what happens when one of
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Unformatted text preview: our beliefs conflicts with another previously held belief? When there is a discrepancy between beliefs or behaviors, something must change in order to eliminate or reduce the dissonance. Festinger is also known for his social comparison theory , which describes the process through which people come to know themselves by evaluating their own attitudes, abilities and beliefs in comparison with others. Leon Festinger published his original paper on the theory of social comparison in 1954 in the journal Human Relations. According to this theory, humans possess a drive for self-evaluation. People want to evaluate their opinions and obtain some idea of how skilled they are...
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