Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (Social Comparison Scale)

 

Gibbons, F. X., & Buunk, B. P.  (1999).  Individual differences in social comparison: Development

of a scale of social comparison orientation.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76 (1), 129-142. 

 

Most people compare themselves from time to time with others.  For example, they may compare the way they feel, their opinions, their abilities, and/or their situation with those of other people.  There is nothing particularly “good” or “bad” about this type of comparison, and some people do it more than others.  We would like to find out how often you compare yourself with other people.  To do that we would like you to indicate how much you agree with each statement below, by using the following scale.

 

A

B

C

D

E

I disagree strongly

 

 

 

I agree strongly

 

1.  I often compare how my loved ones (boy or girlfriend, family members, etc.) are doing with how others

     are doing.

2.  I always pay a lot of attention to how I do things compared with how others do things.

3.  If I want to find out how well I have done something, I compare what I have done with how others have

     done.

4.  I often compare how I am doing socially (e.g., social skills, popularity) with other people.

5.  I am not the type of person who compares often with others. (reversed)

6.  I often compare myself with others with respect to what I have accomplished in life.

7.  I often like to talk with others about mutual opinions and experiences.

8.  I often try to find out what others think who face similar problems as I face.

9.  I always like to know what others in a similar situation would do.

10.  If I want to learn more about something, I try to find out what others think about it.

11.  I never consider my situation in life relative to that of other people. (reversed)

 

 


 

Upward comparison subscale

 

1.  When it comes to my personal life, I sometimes compare myself with others who have it better than I do.

2.  When I consider how I am doing socially (e.g., social skills, popularity), I prefer to compare with others who are more socially skilled than I am.

3.  When evaluating my current performance (e.g., how I am doing at home, work, school, or wherever), I often compare with others who are doing better

     than I am.

4.  When I wonder how good I am at something, I sometimes compare myself with others who are better at it than I am.

5.  When things are going poorly, I think of others who have it better than I do.

6.  I sometimes compare myself with others who have accomplished more in life than I have.

 

 

Downward comparison subscale

 

1.  When it comes to my personal life, I sometimes compare myself with others who have it worse than I do.

2.  When I consider how I am doing socially (e.g., social skills, popularity), I prefer to compare with others who are less socially skilled than I am.

3.  When evaluating my current performance (e.g., how I am doing at home, work, school, or wherever), I often compare with others who are doing worse

     than I am.

4.  When I wonder how good I am at something, I sometimes compare myself with others who are worse at it than I am.

5.  When things are going poorly, I think of others who have it worse than I do.

6.  I sometimes compare myself with others who have accomplished less in life than I have.