When my friend gets an F on a test, I feel bad for him; when
my friend gets first place, I feel even worse. This is what Rancho learns from
his human behavior class after a test in the movie 3 Idiots, one of my favorite films. What Rancho learns is almost true
for me. Sometimes, when I get a bad score on a test, I cannot control to wish
that my classmates will get a bad score too. So why does this thought happen to
me or even most people.
To explain it, there are three premises we need to know first:
- Most people has the motivation to compare themselves to others, in order to gain accurate self-evaluation. (Social comparison theory)
- Most people has the need to maintain self-esteem by working to perceive themselves positively. (Self-enhancement)
- People are inclined to use information to arrive at casual explanations for events. (Attribution theory)
When I get an F on a test in calculus class, I will first
find out how my friends do on the same test because I want to know if I suck at
calculus or the test is too difficult. (Self-evaluation) Because I have already
failed my test, the motive to feel good about myself is even stronger.
(Self-enhancement) Therefore it is inevitable that I hope everybody gets a bad
score on the test, so that I can conclude that the test is too difficult for us
and it is not my fault. (Attribution)
On the other hand, if my friend comes to show me that he or
she gets an A on the test, my mind will automatically realizes that I get an F because
I SUCK. This feeling is terrible, because the need to feel good about myself is
not fulfilled. At this point, I will probably be overwhelmed by various
negative emotions, such as depression and jealousy. At this point, I will automatically
hope that my friend will fail his or her test in another class.
According to Leon Festinger, people will compare with others
who are similar to one’s opinions and abilities, because it ensures the accuracy
of evaluation. Festiger uses a chess novice who won’t compare himself or
herself to a chess master as an example. That’s why sometimes instead of being
jealous, I find it admirable that my friend gets the first place in a pencil
drawing competition, because I know nothing about drawing.
This is just a simple explanation for what confuses me.
Thank you for reading.
3 Idiots is one of my favorite Bollywood movies, too! Thank you for explaining this common psychological phenomenon. Now I know that this is why I felt bad when I heard you got first place in science competition (I'm just kidding lol).
ReplyDeleteAlso, instead of explain why people do not compare to others who are more outstanding than themselves, can you give further explanation about why people compare themselves to others who have similar perspectives?