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Frequent Social Comparisons and Destructive Emotions and Behaviors: The Dark Side of Social Comparisons

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Social comparisons may seem to serve several positive functions, including self-enhancement. Frequent social comparisons, however, have a dark side. Two studies examined the relationship between frequent social comparisons and destructive emotions and behaviors. In Study 1, people who said they made frequent social comparisons were more likely to experience envy, guilt, regret, and defensiveness, and to lie, blame others, and to have unmet cravings. In Study 2, police officers who said they made frequent social comparisons were more likely to show ingroup bias and to be less satisfied with their jobs. The dark side of frequent social comparisons was not associated with self-esteem. Results are discussed in terms of the role of individual differences in social comparison processes.
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... On the one hand, selfesteem has been conceptualized as an antecedent of dispositional envy, as low self-esteem might increase a person's vulnerability to experiencing envy (Salovey & Rodin, 1984;Silver & Sabini, 1978). This notion is underpinned by previous research that has shown that people with low self-esteem are particularly prone to engaging in (upward) social comparisons (Gibbons & Buunk, 1999;Wayment & Taylor, 1995), which are a precondition for the experience of envy (Fiske, 2010;Smith et al., 1999;van de Ven & Zeelenberg, 2020;White et al., 2006). Further supporting this notion, a study with a South Korean sample found that low self-esteem prospectively predicted young women's envy of social media influencers, a relationship that was partially mediated by the frequency of social comparisons with influencers (Chae, 2018; see also Appel et al., 2015;. ...
... Similarly, the prospective effects of self-esteem on dispositional envy found in the present study might be mediated by changes in social comparison orientation (i.e., the trait-like tendency to engage in social comparison with others). It has been shown by previous research that individuals with low self-esteem are particularly prone to making upward comparisons (Gibbons & Buunk, 1999;Wayment & Taylor, 1995) and that upward comparisons lead to envy (Alicke & Zell, 2008;White et al., 2006). Therefore, decreases in a person's level of self-esteem might make that person more likely to engage in upward comparisons, thereby making that person more susceptible to envy. ...
... Workplace envy is an unpleasant emotion experienced universally when one compares themselves unfavourably to someone or a group with a better position in a meaningful area (Navarro-Carrillo et al., 2017). This emotion can lead to self-esteem issues, shame, and depression (Duffy et al., 2021;Vrabel et al., 2018;Yu et al., 2018), negative comparisons (White et al., 2006), and aggressive behaviour (Li et al., 2021). Such negative outcomes can cause the envious person to feel inadequate and low in self-worth and experience persistent negativity and dissatisfaction (Thompson et al., 2016). ...
... There is some evidence that individuals tend to prioritize social over temporal comparison (Van Yperen & Leander, 2014;White et al., 2006), and empirical work indicates that social comparison has a stronger influence on self-evaluations than temporal comparison (Zell & Strickhouser, 2020). Yet, temporal comparisons are as frequently reported as social comparisons (Wilson & Shanahan, 2020). ...
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