...Social Comparison and Temporal Life Satisfaction In his theory of social comparison, Festinger (1954) identified the idea that human beings have the drive to look at others in order to evaluate their own opinions and abilities. Social comparison is categorized into two forms, namely downward and upward. Downward comparison occurs when an individual compares to others who are deemed as socially worse off, while upward social comparison acts in the opposite direction. Over the years, there have been various studies on the directional effects of both upward and downward comparison on an individual’s self evaluation. According to Suls, Martin, & Wheeler (2002), both downward and upward comparison can lead to people viewing their situations in a more positive way. Another research study by Buunk, Collins, Taylor, VanYperen, & Dakof (1990), showed that downward comparison evoked a fear in individuals about ending up in the same situation as their less fortunate comparisons. In return, the fear of “it could also happen to me” made people have a lower level of life satisfaction. Despite the various comprehensive researches done thus far, there is still no clear conclusion on the exact impact and effect of social comparison on an individual’s evaluation of his or her own attributes and attitudes and abilities. This is even more applicable to college students who are constantly evaluating their personal abilities and opinions by making comparisons to their peers. The...
Words: 1442 - Pages: 6
...often lead the way when determining basic guidelines for acceptable practices in society. The influence of these individuals, specifically celebrities, can be seen most often in younger generations. As young adults mature, they begin to develop a strong sense of independence. With this new found self-identity, many adolescents look to media outlets for guidance in establishing social norms and behaviors. It is extremely evident that media outlets have the power to create meaning. Image advertisements in particular have the power to create a set of frames that perpetuate ideological hegemony. Ideology is a culmination of social beliefs and values that are upheld by members of society. Hegemony is the power or dominance that one social group holds over others (Lull, 1995). Ideological hegemony is a concept that describes an intertwined system of everyday realities that are created by dominant individuals. As a result, ideological hegemony can often go undetected by common members of society. For example, ideological hegemony can be detected in image advertisements. Gender stereotypes and dominant norms are often perpetuated in daily advertisements. Clothing advertisers often feature young women and men and exaggerate potential sexual relationships. This could indicate the importance of heterosexuality, and the importance of beauty in our society. Due to the amount of messages an individual sees on a daily basis, these common stereotypes are not...
Words: 1510 - Pages: 7
...HR Policies & Practices: Gender Diversity, Equality, & Leadership Abstract The number of women obtaining higher levels of education and positions in their careers has increased, but the number of women obtaining management and executive positions has remained stagnant. Human resource policies and practices’ follow ethical guidelines, but in practicality are more difficult to apply in the workforce. Human resource practices and policies may be influenced by the overall mindset of a company. The barriers that prevent women from achieving management and executive positions are the same barriers that prevent human resource policies and practices’ from being applied. The gaps in gender equality and wages, created by the barriers, can be discouraging to women from achieving high-level positions. Overcoming the barriers is a task in undoing the mindset that has been instilled deeply within society. Introduction Studies have shown that companies who promote female gender equality surpass their competitors on every measure of profitability, yet women are failing to attain high-level positions. Possible reasons for the persistent wage and gender gap between men and women in senior leadership positions can be found by reviewing current data on women in the workplace, studies on the correlation between gender diversity in senior management and company performance, and literature on gender behavioral differences in the workplace. Women play an increasingly significant role...
Words: 2524 - Pages: 11
...him seriously? It would be shocking to see a man do this, but it is a common wardrobe for women in media. When women constantly broadcast themselves without modesty in media outlets how are they expected to be taken seriously? Today, due to increasing pressures of what it means to be a real woman, women in media outlets are frequently portrayed as sexualized objects. The current representation of women in media outlets must be changed in order to progress as a society and to dismantle the gender disparities between men and women. According to Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s documentary,Missrepresentation, 78 percent of 17 year old girls feel unhappy with their bodies and 65 percent of women and girls have an eating disorder. (Newsom) It is difficult for young women to be themselves because often it is not socially acceptable. The hourglass figure portrayed on women in media has caused women of all ages to compare themselves to media’s socially standardized women. For instance, social comparison theory was first proposed by Leon Festinger during the 1950s. Festinger stated in his theory that people rely on external models on which to form their self-perceptions. These models can come from people known in real life...
Words: 419 - Pages: 2
...Kuo-Hao Wong ID:WONKP1503 Facebook has damaged social relations? "If you put a Like button on your site, you're potentially selling out your users' privacy even if they never press that button," says Nicole Ozer, an attorney with the ACLU of Northern California. Introduction There are a variety of Internet accesses that can pass the message to the target audience such as website, Video & Audio, e-mails, Online Media, customer relationship management (ECRM).(Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G, 1997) Facebook is a free social network site which lets people have contact with others and share their interests and information, it also links to other sites that they find interesting or amusing around the world, a Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004. Purpose of the site is to become a university online version of the printed Facebook, newborn directory. At that time, membership site just limited to Harvard students. In a month's time, Facebook grew to include other Ivy League students, within a year, there are more than one million users. By the end of 2005, Facebook expanded to include, first, the network 800 colleges and universities, high schools, and international students. In the fall semester of 2006, Facebook began to accept people over 13 years old to join. According to Facebook's Press Room, a social networking site now has more than 90 million active users. Damaged social relations According to us Forbes magazine reported on April 13, the university...
Words: 663 - Pages: 3
...Social Psychology Tutorial – Practice MCQs LECTURE 1-Me, Myself, and I 1) When we compare ourselves to others who are more capable, we are engaged in a(n) _______. A) Downward social comparison B) Lateral social attribution C) Downward attribution D) Upward social comparison E) Upward attribution 2) Henry feels helpless at his job, feels that he cannot control his workday, and feels that he is useless, worthless and inept. These characteristics would probably mean that Henry has _______. A) Low self-esteem B) High locus of control C) High self-insight D) Low locus of control E) Negative possible selves 3) When we think of ourselves as members of specific social groups, we are thinking of our ________. A) sexual self-schema B) social-personal self C) personal self D) cultural self identity E) social identity 4) In meeting a new roommate, David stresses his studious qualities, an aspect of himself he wishes others to agree with, while being willing to underplay other potentially important aspects of himself. David is practicing a ________ approach in presenting himself to others. A) self-verification B) ingratiation C) self-enhancement D) self-denial E) neurotic LECTURE 2-Everyone is a Psychologist 1) Imagine that you see a friend arguing with a sales clerk in a store. You have never seen your friend argue with anyone in public before. Therefore, you think that the clerk did something to cause the argument. The theory that most directly explains...
Words: 2173 - Pages: 9
...assigned to rule, the Vashayas were engaged in trade and commerce and the Shudras were assigned to do the other jobs. But apart from these four sects, there were other castes that were completely ostracized from the traditional Indian society and not given any place in the caste hierarchy and were considered untouchables because they were engaged in professions that were considered “impure”. They were at the bottom of these (upper caste) people. They were treated less than humans. And if you’re a Dalit woman, the cocktail of gender and caste raises an even bigger barrier to tear...
Words: 984 - Pages: 4
...Luis Cerna WRT-101-095 Revision Today’s Media Influence on Body Image The media today comes in many forms. For example, we have magazines, newspapers, television, radio, and the internet. Having all these elements at one’s disposal is a great asset, but it can also be a manipulator that could blindside consumers. The media has shaped society’s idea of what perfect is and it has definitely changed our idea of what perfect looks like. Exposure to thin female models and muscular built males on a daily basis has created an entirely new culture for the new generations. Having a perfect body not only means being healthy and achieving the perfect physical imagine. Now it also means power, fame, money and most of all attention. Today media has a negative influence on our body image. Body image is not only about how a person physically looks but also how the individual feels about himself. How society presents not only a perfect body but a healthy one, the ideals have tremendously changed in the past decade. Now we are being forced to meet unrealistic body types and looks in order to fit in and love ourselves. The media exposes super model images on television, ads, magazines and even the radio making us believe these deceptive images. According to article Food and Body Image, in a 1992 article in the Journal of Communication, it was estimated that on average adolescents see more than 5,260 “attractiveness messages” each year. And according to the American College of Obstetricians...
Words: 1780 - Pages: 8
...Chapter 3 – The Social Self NATURE OF THE SOCIAL SELF * Begins with William James and his book “The Principles of Psychology” (1890) * Coined term “social me” to refer to the parts of self-knowledge that are derived from social relationships (Ex. You w/ soccer buddies vs. you w/ romantic partner) * Three primary components of the self * Individual self – Person’s beliefs about his or her unique personal traits, abilities, preferences, tastes, talents, etc (Ex. What sets you apart) * Relational self – Sense of oneself in specific relationships (Ex. Black sheep) * Collective self – A person’s identity as a member of the groups to which he or she belongs (Ex. Irish Canadian, Libertarian) * Also includes beliefs about the roles, duties, and obligations we assume. * Prominence of different self-beliefs varies according to a person’s culture of origin. * Americans describe themselves in terms of personal attributes (individualist) * Japanese defined themselves in terms of relationships (collectivist) ORIGINS OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE * Family and Other Socialization Agents * Symbolic interactionist notion that we come to know ourselves through imagining what others think of us (Cooley 1902 – looking glass self) * Reflected self-appraisals – Our beliefs about others’ appraisals of us * We internalize what we think others appraise us, not how they actually do * Medial prefrontal cortex heightened...
Words: 1446 - Pages: 6
...A)Violence against Women -Wrestling with manhood -Violence is connected to manhood (real men invite confrontation, trash talk) -Fear and respect go hand in hand -Bark like a dog (subordination of women is part of the “man” package) -Comparison to women as a challenging idea (you are a “bitch”) -Chyna becomes so strong, she is stripped of femininity (later rejects public image) -violence as “deserved,” even really crazy awful sexual violence (“bark like a dog”) -“...it's only entertainment.” -Sex Trafficking (Trade) B)Gender, Beauty, Normalization -Wolf, beauty as a prerequisite for success for women -“girls learn that stories happen to 'beautiful' woman but don't happen to women who aren't beautiful” -beauty as a market and product -the female body as a constant -Kaw, Asian Americans (3% of pop., 6% of cosmetic surgeries), most likely ethnicity to get c. surgery -encouragement of self hatred -pressuring women to conform to standards of normality -media representation of Asians as “sleepy, dull, uninterested” -origins in facial reconstruction at WWI -now used to “fix” completely natural features -Valenti, beauty as a “shut the fuck up” tool -beauty is a distraction -women are too ugly or too pretty to be consequential/deserve public attention -Bordo, Slender Body -double bind: producer v. consumer -moral coding: fat is seen as lazy, thin as control -cultural...
Words: 1763 - Pages: 8
...A Presidential candidate must have intentions of narrowing the wage gap between corporate CEO’s and their employees in order for my vote to be casted for him or her. Inequality between citizens is a growing problem that needs to be addressed in our nation. According to Robert Reich, former United States Secretary of Labor under the Clinton administration, the financial top 1% in the United States takes in an increasingly larger annual income in comparison to the other 99% of Americans, whose wages remain relatively stagnant. Financial inequality comes with an inherent danger of bleeding through into social inequality in the form of severely contrasting classes. Healthy U.S. economy comes from a strong middle class. Consumer demand is crucial to the economic well-being of our country, however the bulk of consumers are not earning much and therefore not spending much. This lack of consumption leads to a slow in hiring and expansion. Reagan’s failed plan of trickle-down economics was a stark contrast to this reality. Not only that, but middle class is often forced to take loans in order to buy necessities and maintain a standard of living; and the debt grows in middle class while the top 1% is able to hold onto their money. Due to...
Words: 498 - Pages: 2
...generation. “St. Paul’s helped transfer the birthright of each new group of students into credentials, relationships, and culture, all of which ensured their future success.” (Khan 13) St Paul’s however strives to have their student body represent the population of the world, with both the wealthiest and the poorest, female and male, and students of all races living together. Khan works to present the idea of a “‘new elite’ – a group of advantaged youths who don’t quite reflect what we typically imagine when we conjure up a vision of the well-off.” (Khan 16) These “new elite” are not all white or from rich families or live in picturesque houses in New England. Instead, this group is diverse, hard working, and believe that they can achieve upward mobility if they are determined enough to do so. Privilege is Shamus Khan’s attempt to understand and explain this new elite and to make sense of the ever-widening inequality that pervades American culture. Looking at history, we can begin to understand the divide between title and wealth and the phenomenon of increasing inequality occurring simultaneously with increasing diversity. “…the Gilded Age elites became a distinct class, they removed themselves socially, culturally, and even spatially from their...
Words: 967 - Pages: 4
...Comparison and Analysis of Social Justice in the United States and India Jessica M. Alstad Argosy University Author Note All correspondence pertaining to this work should be directed to: Jessica Alstad, 4305 Grayson Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46228 Abstract Social justice has multiple definitions depending on the country a person resides in. The definition of social justice in the United States differs from that definition in India. Some of these differences can be attributed to historical values that have influenced social policies. However, there are some similarities when looking at the basic ideologies involved. When analyzing social justice, it is important to look at the entire picture that is presented. Keywords: social justice, United States, India, social policy, ideology Comparison and Analysis of Social Justice in the United States and India Many different qualities make up the definition of social justice, both in the United States and India. These definitions are influenced by historical values and ideologies that have influenced social policy. While the definitions of social justice in both locations are different, there are some areas that are similar. The basic ideologies highlight those similarities. The economic structure of a country, as well as any discrimination issues, should also be considered when analyzing social justice. When analyzing social justice, it is important to look at the entire picture that is presented. Social Justice in the...
Words: 1256 - Pages: 6
...Expanded Comparison Matrix | |Article 1 |Article 2 |Article 3 | |Title/Author(s) |Transformational Leadership in the Public Sector: Does Structure |The Effect Of Transactional and Transformational |The Reality of Web-Based Interaction in an | | |Matter? |Leadership Styles on the Organizational Commitment and |Egyptian Distance Education Course | | | |Job Satisfaction of Customer Contact Personnel | | | |Wright & Pandey | |Alaa Sadik | | | |Emery & Barker | | | | | | | |Purpose of the study ...
Words: 1597 - Pages: 7
...Social media and Self-esteem Anh Phung Abstract In this day and age, social media has become an integral part of our lives. It has created a platform for people to share information instantly and communicate with people all around the world. Facebook is the most outstanding example of successful social media network. According to the first quarter 2015 earnings announcement by Facebook, the site has achieved 1.44 billion active users per month, and 65% of which are daily active users. Other social networking sites such as Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn are also a powerful means of communication. With such a large audience, social networking sites provide ample opportunities to acquire information, network, and connect with friends. Besides from the obvious benefits that social media brings to our lives, there are some other effects that it has on its users’ wellbeing. This paper examines how people’s tendency when using social networking sites affects their level of self-esteem. Introduction The introduction of social media has revolutionized the way people interact, since social interactions can now take place anywhere that has Internet coverage. Thanks to social media, people no longer need to meet face-to-face in order to know how another person is doing. Social networking sites serve as a place for users to share information about themselves, from the simplest things like what they have for dinner and who they hang out with, to more personal things like their thoughts...
Words: 3942 - Pages: 16
