Interpersonal Moderators of the Effects of Upward Comparisons on Ability Judgments

In everyday life, the meaning—and thus the consequences—of social comparisons are shaped by the interpersonal relationship with the comparison target. In two studies, undergraduates described 1,863 naturally occurring upward social comparisons. Participants ascribed higher ability levels to themselves when they had an ongoing competition or close (but not extremely close) relationship with the upward comparison target. Participants ascribed lower ability levels to distant and disliked targets (especially when their standing relative to a disliked target was personally important). Thus, perceived differences between the abilities of the self and the target were minimized when the target was disliked, moderately close, or a rival. These findings extend and qualify findings from laboratory studies of how upward comparisons affect ability judgments.