Social Comparison

counterfactual thinking

the “what might have been” - mentally comparing actual events with fantasies of what could have happened in an alternate scenario. silver and bronze medal example.

Downward comparison

comparing ourselves to someone who is worse than us. usually heightens self esteem.

Dunning-Kruger Effect

unskilled people often think they are on par or superior to their peers in tasks, aka - Overconfident.

Fixed mindset

the thought that personal qualities such as intelligence cannot be grown or developed.

Frog Pond Effect

the group that one compares themselves to effects how they evaluate themselves. notably, people evaluate themselves lower when they are placing themselves in a high performing group.

Growth mindset

the thought that personal qualities such as intelligence can be improved upon with hard work.

Individual differences

psychological traits that vary from person to person

local dominance effect

people are more effected by a social comparison when it is personally relevant

mastery goal

objectives that emphasize personal growth, skill development, and understanding. fosters a positive attitude towards challenges and encourages persistence in the face of difficulties.

n effect

the finding that increasing the number of competitors (social comparisons) decreases the amount that people want to excel.

Personality

a person’s relatively stable thoughts, emotions, behavior. what people are known for, their character.

proximity

how close to the standard a person is. if a person is closer to the standard, they will care more.

self enhancement effect

comparing yourself to others to feel better about the self

seld esteem

confidence in one’s own abilities

Self evaluation Maintenance

the closeness to a comparison target, how well the target performs, and the relevance to one’s self concept.

social category

group that is defined by the similarities in their members (religious, ethnic, social)

social comparison

making understandings about the self by comparing ourselves to others

upwards comparisons

making comparisons to people who are better than us. usually is paired with the feeling of being inferior, lowered self esteem, or a motivation to perform better.