No pain, no gain
The conditions under which upward comparisons lead to better performance
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6201489 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Camille S Johnson (0000-0002-2074-3851, Stanford University), Diederik A Stapel (Tilburg University) |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 92 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 1051-1067 |
| Publication date | 2007-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1051 |
| PMID | 17547488 |
| OpenAlex | W2132902242 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 14 |
| References cited | 32 |
In 3 studies, the authors explored the relation between threatening upward social comparisons and performance. In an initial study, participants were exposed to comparison targets who either threatened or boosted self-evaluations and then completed a performance task. Participants exposed to the threatening target performed better than those in a control group, whereas those exposed to the nonthreatening target performed worse. In Study 2, self-affirmation prior to comparison with threatening targets eliminated performance improvements. In Study 3, performance improvements were found only when the performance domain was different from the domain of success of the comparison target. These boundary conditions suggest that increases in performance following social comparison arise from individuals' motivations to maintain and repair self-evaluations. Implications for the study of the behavioral consequences of social comparison are discussed
Lead (geology) · Performance enhancement · Physical medicine and rehabilitation · Social comparison theory · Task (project management) · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Cultural Differences and Values · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology
Leveling up and down
Visual perspective influences the use of metacognitive information in temporal comparisons
Do Conscious Thoughts Cause Behavior?
Why Envy Outperforms Admiration
Reflection Versus Self-Reflection
The Plastic Trap
Held in contempt
The “me” I claim to be
Clarifying the role of social comparison in the big-fish–little-pond effect (BFLPE)
Unconscious goal activation and the hijacking of the executive function
The downside of feeling better
Phantom Behavioral Assimilation Effects
Looking down and ramping up
To Each His Own? How Comparisons with Others Influence Consumers' Evaluations of Their Self-Designed Products
The associative basis of the creative process.
Comparison processes in social judgment
Toward a Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model of Social Behavior
On the Confluence of Self-Esteem Maintenance Mechanisms
Does High Self-Esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness, or Healthier Lifestyles?
SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models
The Psychology of Self-Affirmation
An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict
Female Role Models
Accepting Threatening Information
The downside of feeling better
Retracted
Retracted
Stigma and multiple social comparisons in people with schizophrenia
The Ups and Downs of Social Comparison
Personal contact, individuation, and the better-than-average effect
Motivation by positive or negative role models
Seeing one thing and doing another
Social stigma and self-esteem
The impact of comparison processes on coactors' task performance
Could it happen to you? Predicting the impact of downward comparisons on the self
The effects of promotion and prevention cues on creativity
Distinctiveness of others, mutability of selves
Method Matters
Contrast effects as determined by the type of prime
Superstars and me
Establishing a causal chain
Achieving positive social identity
When better-than-others compare upward
Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal attributes
For better or worse
| Unique citing works | 14 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,78 |
| Citation span | 2008 - 2012 (5) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 12 |