The Effect of Direction, Self-Relevance, and Focus of Social Comparisons on Self-Evaluation: Interpretation via Assimilation and Contrast Effects

This study investigated the effect of direction, self-relevance, and focus of social comparisons on self-evaluation. 160 participants (76 men, 84 women; 19–27 years old) were enrolled from a marketing class. Using self as the focus of comparison will cause a contrast effect, while using others as the focus of comparison will have an assimilation effect. When the comparison dimension is highly self-relevant, a contrast effect will be observed on self-evaluation, while an assimilation effect will be observed when the comparison dimension is low on self-relevance. Also, when self is the focus of comparison, a highly self-relevant comparison dimension will make the contrast effect stronger, while a dimension with low self-relevance will make the contrast effect weaker. Conversely, when others are the focus of comparison, a comparison dimension that has low self-relevance will make the assimilation effect stronger, while a highly self-relevant one will weaken it. Primary results in this study were an interaction of comparison direction by focus of comparison and an interaction of comparison direction by self-relevance on self-evaluation.