Being better than some but not better than average: Self-enhancing comparisons in aerobics

British Journal of Social Psychology

Volumn 37, Issue 2, 1998, Pages 185-201

  Van Vugt, Mark ^a   Howard, Claire ^a   Moss, Susanna ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0032389734     PISSN: 01446665     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8309.1998.tb01164.x     Document Type: Article

References (35)

1. Alicke, M. D. (1985). Global self-evaluation as determined by the desirability and controllability of trait adjectives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 1621-1630.
2. Allison, S. T., Messick, D. M. & Goethals, G. R. (1989). On being better but not smarter than others: The Muhammad Ali effect. Social Cognition, 7, 275-296.
3. Baumeister, R. F. (1988). The optimal margin of illusion. Journal of Clinical and Social Psychology, 8, 176-189.
4. Brown, J. D. (1986). Evaluations of self and others: Self-enhancement biases in social judgments. Social Cognition, 4, 353-376.
5. Buunk, B. P. (1995). Comparison direction and comparison dimension among disabled individuals: Towards a refined conceptualization of social comparison under stress. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 316-330.
6. Buunk, B. P. & Gibbons, F. X. (1997). Health and Coping: Perspectives from Social Comparison Theory. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
7. Crocker, J., Thompson, L. L., McGraw, K. M. & Ingerman, C. (1987). Downward comparison prejudice and evaluations of others: Effects of self-esteem and threat. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 907-916.
8. Dunning, D., Meyerowitz, J. A. & Holzberg, A. D. (1989). Ambiguity and self-evaluation: The role of idiosyncratic trait definitions in self-serving assessments of ability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1082-1090.
9. Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117-140.
10. Frederick, J. C., Havitz, M. E. & Shaw, S. M. (1994). Social comparison in aerobic exercise classes: Propositions for analyzing motives and participation. Leisure Sciences, 16, 161-176.
11. Gibbons, F. X. (1986). Social comparison and depression: Company's eftect on misery. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 140-148.
12. Goldberg, M. L., Passow, A. H. & Justman, J. (1966). The Effects of Ability Grouping. New York: Teachers College Press.
13. Hakmiller, K. L. (1996). Threat as a determinant of downward comparison. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2, 32-39.
14. Helgeson, V. S. & Taylor, S. E. (1993). Social comparisons and adjustment among cardiac patients. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 23, 1171-1195.
15. Liebrand, W. B. G., Messick, D. M. & Wolters, F. J. M. (1986). Why we are fairer than others: A cross-cultural replication and extension. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 22, 590-604.
16. Marsh, H. W. & Parker, J. W. (1984). Determinants of student self-concept: Is it better to be a relatively large fish in a small pond even if you don't learn to swim that well. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 213-231.
17. Monteil, J. M. & Michinov, N. (1996). Study of some determinants of social comparison strategies using a new methodological tool: Towards a dynamic approach. European Journal of Social Psychology, 26, 981-999.
18. Rees, C. R. & Segal, M. W. (1984). Intragroup competition, equity, and interpersonal attraction. Social Psychology Quarterly, 47, 328-336.
19. Schulz, R. & Decker, S. (1985). Long-term adjustment to physical disability: The role of social support, perceived control, and self-blame. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 1162-1172.
20. Sulls, J. & Wills, T. A. (1991). Social Comparison: Contemporary Theory and Research. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
21. Svenson, O. (1981). Are we all less risky and more skilful than our fellow drivers? Acta Psychologica, 47, 143-148.
22. Taylor, S. E. & Brown, J. D. (1988). Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 193-210.
23. Taylor, S. E. & Brown, J. D. (1994). Positive illusions and well-being revisited: Separating fact from fiction. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 21-27.
24. Taylor, S. E. & Lobel, M. (1989). Social comparison activity under threat: Downward evaluation and upward contacts. Psychological Review, 96, 569-575.
25. Taylor, S. E., Wood, J. V. & Lichtman, R. R. (1983). It could be worse: Selective evaluation as a response to victimization. Journal of Social Issues, 39, 19-40.
26. Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185, 1124-1131.
27. Van Lange, P. A. M. (1991). Being better but not smarter than others: The Muhammad Ali effect at work in interpersonal situations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 17, 690-694.
28. Van Yperen, N. & Van Den Dobbelsteen, C. (1991). Sociale vergelijking by topsporters [Social comparison among professional sporters]. In R. Meertens, B. Buunk & R. Van der Vlist (Eds), Sociale Psychologie en Voorlichting en Maatschappelijke Problemen. Den Haag: Vuga.
29. Van der Zee, K. I. & Buunk, B. P. (1995). Social comparison as a mediator between health problems and subjective health evaluations. British Journal of Social Psychology, 34, 53-65.
30. Wills, T. A. (1981). Downward comparison principles in social psychology. Psychological Bulletin, 90, 245-271.
31. Wills, T. A. (1991). Similarity and self-esteem in downward comparison. In J. Suls & T. A. Wills (Eds), Social Comparison: Contemporary Theory and Research, pp. 51-78. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
32. Wood, J. V. (1989). Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal attributes. Psychological Bulletin, 106, 231-248.
33. Wood, J. V. (1996). What is social comparison and how should we study it? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 520-537.
34. Wood, J. V., Taylor, S. E. & Lichtman, R. R. (1985). Social comparison in adjustment to breast cancer. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 1169-1183.
35. Ybema, J. F. & Buunk, B. P. (1993). Aiming at the top? Social comparison after failure. European Journal of Social Psychology, 23, 627-645.