We are constantly comparing not only ourselves but also the persons in our social environment with others, and we make these comparisons in such a way that those close to us do well

Thai, Sabrina, and Penelope Lockwood. 2022. “Social-judgment Comparisons in Daily Life.” PsyArXiv. July 12. doi:10.31234/osf.io/83tze

Abstract: Comparison processes are critical to social judgments, yet little is known about how individuals compare people other than themselves in daily life (social-judgment comparisons). The present research employed a 7-day experience-sampling design (Nparticipants=93; Nsurveys=3960) with end-of-week and six-month follow-ups, to examine how individuals make social-judgment comparisons in daily life as well as the cumulative impact of these comparisons over time. Participants compared close (vs. distant) contacts more frequently and made more downward than upward comparisons. Furthermore, downward, relative to upward, comparisons predicted more positive perceptions of the contact, greater closeness to the contact, and greater relationship satisfaction. More frequent downward comparisons involving a particular contact also predicted greater closeness one week and six months later. When participants made upward comparisons, they were motivated to protect close, but not distant, contacts by downplaying domain importance, and engaging in this protective strategy predicted greater closeness to the contact one week later.