Social Comparison-Based Thoughts and Their Associations with Group Processes and Outcomes

Abstract:     
The relationships of thoughts derived from social comparison with group processes and outcomes were examined. Our study among 111 educational groups showed that contrasting thoughts, such as believing to be better than a worse-performing teammate or believing to be worse than a better-performing teammate, are negatively related to trust at the individual and the group level. Upward identifying thoughts, such as believing to become just as good as a better-performing teammate, are associated with high goal achievement, whereas downward identifying thoughts, such as believing to become just as bad as a worse-performing teammate, are associated with low goal achievement. Social comparison-based thoughts showed no significant relationships with group grades. We conclude that social comparison-based thoughts are important to consider when designing teamwork, because of the constructive and destructive consequences they may have for group functioning.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 35

Keywords: Social comparison, trust, group processes

working papers series