Describe the process of social comparison, and apply it to a child who wants to evaluate her intellectual and social abilities.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A good answer would include the following key points:
- Social comparison is the process of evaluating one's own behavior, abilities, or opinions by comparing them to those of others.
- Upward social comparison involves evaluation against others who are presumed to be more competent on the dimension under consideration.
- Downward social comparison involves evaluation against others who are presumed to be less competent on the dimension under consideration.
- A child who wants to evaluate her intellectual abilities actually wouldn't need social comparison, as there are objective measures available, such as test scores, grades on projects, class rankings, and so on. However, a child making an upward comparison might evaluate herself in relation to slightly smarter peers, whereas a child making a downward comparison might evaluate herself in relation to slightly duller peers. The consequence of upward social comparison in this case might be a blow to esteem (as the child realizes she is not as smart as others), whereas the consequence of downward comparison might be a boost to esteem (especially if the child chooses a much lower comparison standard).
- Social skills, which are more nebulous to begin with, could also be evaluated either upward or downward. The choice of a comparison target who is either a bit more or a bit less socially skilled would be appropriate in this case.