Toward mindful social comparison: When subjective and objective selves are mutually exclusive

New Ideas in Psychology

Volumn 25, Issue 3, 2007, Pages 221-232

  Djikic, Maja ^a   Langer, Ellen J ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO   (Canada)

^b HARVARD UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Mindfulness; Social comparison

Indexed keywords

EID: 34548435639     PISSN: 0732118X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.newideapsych.2007.03.001     Document Type: Article

References (43)

1. Aspinwall L.G., and Taylor S.E. Effects of social comparison direction, threat, and self-esteem on affect, evaluation, and expected success. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 64 (1993) 708-722
2. Baumeister R.F. Low self-esteem does not cause aggression. APA Monitor 30 (1999) 4
3. Buunk B.P., Zurriaga R., Peíró J.M., Nauta A., and Gosalvez I. Social comparison at work as related to a cooperative social climate and to individual differences in social comparison orientation. Applied Psychology: An International Review 54 1 (2005) 61-80
4. Collins R.L. For better or worse: The impact of upward social comparison on self-evaluations. Psychological Bulletin 119 1 (1996) 51-69
5. Colvin C.R., and Block J. Do positive illusions foster mental health? An examination of the Taylor and Brown formulation. Psychological Bulletin 116 (1994) 3-20
6. Colvin C.R., Block J., and Funder D.C. Overly positive self-evaluations and personality: Negative implications for mental health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 68 (1995) 1152-1162
7. Crocker J., and Wolfe C.T. Contingencies of self-worth. Psychological Review 108 3 (2001) 593-623
8. Deci E.L., and Ryan R.M. Human autonomy: The basis for true self-esteem. In: Kemis M.H. (Ed). Efficacy, agency, and self-esteem (1995), Plenum, New York 31-49
9. Djikic M., Peterson J.B., and Zelazo P.D. Attentional biases and memory distortions in self-enhancers. Personality and Individual Differences 38 3 (2005) 559-568
10. Djikic M., Chan I., and Peterson J.B. Reducing memory distortions in egoistic self-enhancers: Effects of indirect social facilitation. Personality and Individual Differences 42 (2007) 723-731
11. Duval T.S., and Wicklund R.A. A theory of objective self-awareness (1972), Academic Press, New York
12. Festinger L. A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations 7 (1954) 117-140
13. Gigerenzer G., Hoffrage U., and Kleinbölting H. Probabilistic mental models: A Brunswikian theory of confidence. Psychological Review 98 (1991) 506-528
14. Goethals G.R., Messick D.M., and Allison S.T. The uniqueness bias: Studies of constructive social comparison. In: Suls J., and Wills T.A. (Eds). Social comparison: Contemporary theory and research (1991), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, England 149-176
15. James W. The principles of psychology (Vol. 1) (1902), Macmillan, London (Original work published 1890)
16. Kernis M.H., and Waschull S.B. The interactive roles of stability and level of self-esteem: Research and theory. In: Zanna M.P. (Ed). Advances in experimental social psychology Vol. 27 (1995), Academic Press, San Diego, CA 93-141
17. Langer E. Rethinking the role of thought in social interaction. In: Harvey J., Ickes W., and Kidd R. (Eds). New directions in attribution research (1978), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New Jersey
18. Langer E. Mindfulness (1989), Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA
19. Langer E. The power of mindful learning (1997), Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA
20. Langer E. On becoming an artist (2005), Ballantine Books, New York
21. Langer E., and Moldoveanu M. When stupid is smarter than we are. In: Sternberg R.J. (Ed). Why smart people can be so stupid (2002), Yale University Press, New Haven, CT
22. Locke K.D., and Nekich J. Agency and communion in naturalistic social comparisons. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 26 (2000) 864-874
23. Lockwood P., and Kunda Z. Superstars and me: Predicting the impact of role models on the self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 73 (1997) 91-103
24. Lockwood P., and Kunda Z. Increasing salience of one's best selves can undermine inspiration by outstanding role models. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 76 (1999) 214-228
25. Lyubomirsky S., and Ross L. Hedonic consequence of social comparison: A contrast of happy and unhappy people. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 73 6 (1997) 1141-1157
26. Mussweiler T. Comparison processes in social judgment: Mechanisms and consequences. Psychological Review 110 3 (2003) 472-489
27. Paulhus D.L., and John O.P. Egoistic and moralistic biases in self-perception: The interplay of self-deceptive styles with basic traits and motives. Journal of Personality 66 6 (1998) 1025-1060
28. Pyszczynski T., Greenberg J., and LaPrelle J. Social comparison after success and failure: Biased search for information consistent with self-serving conclusion. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 21 (1985) 195-211
29. Reimann B.C., and McNally R.J. Cognitive processing of personally relevant information. Cognition and Emotion 9 (1995) 325-340
30. Reiss T.J., and Gibbons F.X. Social comparison and the pill: Reactions to upward and downward comparison of contraceptive behavior. Personality and Ssocial Psychology Bulletin 19 (1993) 13-20
31. Ross, L. (1997). The intuitive psychologist and his shortcomings: Distortions in the attribution process. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 10, p. 84). New York: Academic Press.
32. Rychlak J.F. A philosophy of science for personality theory (1968), Houghton Mifflin Co, Boston
33. Seligman M.E.P. The American way of blame. APA Monitor 29 (1998) 4
34. Shedler J., Mayman M., and Manis M. The illusion of mental health. American Psychologist 48 (1993) 1117-1131
35. Silvia P.J., and Duval T.S. Objective self-awareness theory: Recent progress and enduring problems. Personality and Social Psychology Review 5 (2001) 230-241
36. Taylor S.E., and Brown J.D. Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin 103 (1988) 193-210
37. Taylor S.E., and Brown J.D. Positive illusions and well-being revisited: Separating fact from fiction. Psychological Bulletin 116 (1994) 21-27
38. Wheeler L. Motivation as a determinant of upward comparison. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology Suppl. 1 (1966) 27-31
39. Wheeler L., and Miyake K. Social comparison in everyday life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 62 (1992) 760-773
40. White J., Langer E.J., Yariv L., and Welch J. Frequent social comparisons and destructive emotions and behaviors: The dark side of social comparisons. Journal of Adult Development 13 1 (2006) 36-44
41. Wills T.A. Downward social comparison principles in social psychology. Psychological Bulletin 90 (1981) 245-271
42. Wood J.V. Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal attributes. Psychological Bulletin 106 (1989) 231-248
43. Wood J.V., and VanderZee K. Social comparisons among cancer patients: Under what conditions are comparisons upward and downward. In: Buunk P., and Gibbons F.X. (Eds). Health, coping, and well-being: Perspectives from social comparison theory (1997), Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ