Similarity and Self-Esteem in Downward Comparison

The theory of social comparison was originated by Leon Festinger in a series of papers published in 1954 (Festinger, 1954a, 1954b). Since that time it has been a continuing influence in social psychology. The ideas proposed by Festinger were nurtured in seminars at Minnesota (see Goe- thals, 1986) and studied directly in paradigms that included affiliation preferences (Schächter, 1959) and social comparison choices (Wheeler, 1966). The basis for the theory was consolidated in an issue edited by Latane (1966), which led to additional studies on comparison choices (e.g., Brick- man & Berman, 1971; Gruder, 1971; Wheeler et al., 1969; Wilson & Benner, 1971). The potential of social comparison theory was further…