Social comparison and satisfaction with one's social life

Buunk, Abraham P.
Groothof, Hinke A. K.
Siero, Frans W.

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and University of Groningen, [email protected]
Open University of the Netherlands
University of Groningen

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 24(2):p 197-205, April 2007. | DOI: 10.1177/0265407507075410

In this study (N = 96), the role of social comparison in evaluating the quality of one's friendships and social relationships was examined. Participants who were exposed to a comparison target with a very dissatisfying social life evaluated their own social life as better than participants who were exposed to a comparison target with a very satisfying social life. However, this effect was only found among individuals high in the individual characteristic social comparison orientation. It is concluded that only individuals with a dispositional tendency to compare themselves with others will base the evaluation of their social life to an important extent on what they see in others.