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In most social situations, individuals tend to evaluate their abilities in comparison to others. Comparing self with other individuals has a significant impact on self-concept. The comparison allows individuals an opportunity to assess their social standing (Riyanto, & Zhang, 2016). Unfortunately, individuals with low self-esteem and confidence may use social comparison to improve their self-concept. Such individuals are likely to use downward social comparison to improve themselves. The individuals may compare themselves to less attractive or less intelligent persons. Also, idealized images of physical attractiveness have a significant impact on developing self-concept.
According to the downward social comparison theory, individuals make a negative evaluation of other people to boost their self-esteem (Fein & Spencer, 1997). The negative assessment enables an individual to affirm their social identity by negatively evaluating others. The perceptions and reactions towards other people influence the development of the self-concept. According to studies, affirming the self can be though derogating others. For instance, researchers sought to evaluate how individuals use prejudice towards a particular group of people for self-affirmation. The research findings indicated that individuals that were less self-affirmed would use a more cynical approach when evaluating other people (Fein & Spencer, 1997).
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The negative evaluation of stereotyped individuals was dominant during the study. The negative evaluation can, therefore, be used by individuals to make them feel better about themselves. Also, the downward comparison was more directed towards stereotyped individuals. This brings the aspect of race and ethnicity in social comparison. Individuals are more likely to negatively evaluate persons who belong to a different ethnic group or race from theirs. The downward comparison, therefore, improves the self-image of individuals, which significantly enhances the development of other aspects of self-concept.
The idealized images of physical attractiveness also impact developing self-concept. Attractive appearance is considered an essential component of human interaction. Physically attractive individuals have unique social benefits that positively affect their self-concept. The perception of others on an individual's physical appearance can either boost or hurt their self-esteem. Studies indicate that poor opinions of an individual's body by others cause low self-esteem and self-confidence (Pop, 2016). The modern society and the media emphasize on physical attractiveness. This causes concerns, especially among young people, about being unattractive. These idealized images of physical attractiveness reduce the development of the self-concept.
References
Fein, S., & Spencer, S. J. (1997). Prejudice as self-image maintenance: Affirming the self through derogating others. Journal of personality and Social Psychology, 73(1), 31.
Pop, C. (2016). Self-Esteem and Body Image Perception in a Sample of University Students. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 64, 31-44.
Riyanto, Y. E., & Zhang, J. (2016). Putting a price tag on others’ perceptions of us. Experimental Economics, 19(2), 480-499.
