The Social Context of Social Comparison

Abstract

Research on social comparison has largely ignored the social context in which opinion evaluation may occur. In the present study, subject groups were initially exposed to descriptions of a target issue that emphasized the importance of either informational considerations (facts) or value judgments. Evaluation of the issue and formulation of an issue opinion were defined as either an individual or a group goal. After announcing their own position on the issue, subjects indicated their preference for including in the group a deviant member whose issue position differed from the others' The results revealed that subjects in the group goal condition were more rejecting of the deviant than those in the individual goal condition. This difference was due largely to subjects who perceived the issue in informational terms. The implications of these findings for opinion evaluation as a collective enterprise were discussed.