Social comparison as a
mediator of response shift
Frederick X. Gibbons
(1999) Social Science &
Medicine, 48(11), 1517-1530.
Discusses a social psychological
process that is thought to occur frequently in situations that are also conducive
to response shift. This social process
is social comparison: comparing oneself, one's status and/or one's situation
with that of others. Based on previous
research, it is suggested that social comparison, or more specifically, change
in social comparison, is a mediator of the relation between significant life
event (e.g., health problems and the threat associated with them) and the
change in self-perspective, or response shift, that they often produce. Evidence supporting this claim is reviewed
and new data are presented. The
implications of this mediational relation, including those relevant to the
design of interventions, are discussed.