Social Comparison Examples

When reading chapter 3, the section about social comparison in terms of self-concept really stood out to me and I felt I could relate to that a lot. Social comparison is basically what the name implies, it’s when you compare yourself to those around you, whether they be friends or strangers. Most people partake in social comparison, and I feel like it’s a rather natural thing to do when evaluating yourself. In order to really judge yourself and your skills, you’re most likely going to look at those around you and compare your skill level to them. The group in which you compare yourself to is called a reference group. This group should be reasonable in order to properly compare yourself, or else you may be severely disappointed, or perhaps overconfident. If you compare your high school grades and knowledge to those at an ivy league college, you will find yourself ranking incredibly low and will feel like you aren’t good enough. You should instead compare yourself to those in your grade and school to get a more accurate comparison. Social comparison should not be taken too seriously, however, as it can lead to dangerous outcomes if you focus too hard on how
My reference group is my friends who play the same game as me, and often the same characters as me. In one specific example I have, we were playing a competitive version of the game. At the end of a certain amount of matches, the game gives you a ranking. The higher the rank the better. Out of my group of friends, I ranked the lowest and I felt really upset about it. It made me feel like I was the worst player out of them all, and like I shouldn’t play anymore because I was apparently so awful. My friends had to remind me that they had been playing a lot longer than me, and that I was better than I thought. I was still upset, however, and it took me about a week to get over the embarrassment and hurt I was