Social Comparison is when we draw our standards for evaluation from the behavior of our “peer” group. When using social comparison, we judge ourselves by how well we “measure up” to others who are important to us. The trap in this kind of thinking is that our “peer” group changes, depending upon what we are measuring. Thus, if we are evaluating our grades, we may use a classmate who always makes A’s, but when evaluating aspects of our athletic success we compare to a different classmate who is the “star” of the team. (or we may even choose a professional role model.) The fallacy is that we expect ourselves to be exceptional in every area, but others to be outstanding in only one area. It is much more effective to move our locus of evaluation to an internal standard, set our own goals and measurements, and strive for our personal best.
