Social comparison theory
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Social comparison theory (Festinger 1954) is the idea that individuals learn about and assess themselves by comparison with other people. Social psychological research shows that individuals tend to lean more toward social comparisons in situations that are ambiguous.
Upward social comparison occurs where we mostly compare ourselves with people who we deem to be socially better than us in some way. Downward social comparison acts in the opposite direction.
Social comparison theory helps explain why people yearn to emulate the models they see in the media. Proposed by Leon Festinger (1957), social comparison theory suggests that people judge themselves largely in comparison to others. Do you want to know if you are attractive, popular, healthy, or smart? The only answer may lie in how you perceive the way in which you stack up to the people around you.
Social comparison can be useful when they enhance self-esteem or serve as the basis for reasonable self-improvement. However, they become dysfunctional when the comparison establishes an unrealistic standard (like being super-model thin or weight lifter strong).
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[edit] References
Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2) 117-140.
