Page "Leon Festinger" Paragraph 14

According to Festinger's theory of social comparison people gain self-knowledge and self-awareness by comparing themselves to others.

People prefer to compare themselves to others in a close proximity such as co-workers, friends, family members, etc.

Festinger defined two types of comparisons upward comparisons and downward comparisons.

An upward comparison involves a person comparing themselves to someone that is above them in some form.

An example of this is someone who suffers from depression comparing themselves to someone who is generally happy.

Festinger theorized that these types of comparisons could worsen mood disorders like depression because they would see themselves as being below others and thus become more depressed.

Downward comparison is when an individual compares themselves to someone who is considered beneath them.

An example of this would be when a person who has worked hard to attain some knowledge now views those without that knowledge as inferior.

This type of comparison has the potential to explain delusions of grandiosity in schizophrenic patients who continually make downward comparisons.