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1 page/β‰ˆ275 words
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3 Sources
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APA
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Social Sciences
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Essay
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English (U.S.)
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Topic:

Self-Concept From the Perspective of Downward Comparisons and Idealized Images

Essay Instructions:

People tend to compare themselves to others to gauge their intelligence, attractiveness, and success. Problematically, those who need a self-esteem and self-confidence boost may try to gain it through a downward comparison. In other words, in order improve their self-esteem and self-confidence, they might compare themselves to less intelligent, attractive, or successful individuals to make them feel better about their relative social standing. Consider the pervasive media images of female or male physical perfection. Western culture often overemphasizes a woman’s (and, to a lesser degree, a man’s) physical attractiveness as a measure of her (or his) cultural value. That is, western culture often conflates physical attractiveness with inherent goodness—a woman (or in some cases, a man) who is not physically attractive is somehow less good
For this Discussion, you will analyze the development of self-concept from the perspective of downward comparisons and idealized images.
Review the Learning Resources for this week and consider how downward comparisons and idealized images of physical attractiveness impact the developing self-concept.
Also, consider whether this impact would be different across race and ethnicity.
Post how downward comparisons and idealized images of physical attractiveness impact the developing self-concept. Would this impact be the same across race and ethnicity? Support your post with references to social psychology theory and research.

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Social Comparison Essay
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According to social comparison theory (SCT), individuals constantly evaluate themselves by comparing themselves with others in scenarios where nonsocial approaches are unavailable. Individuals' conscious social experiences influence their self-concept because humans are inherently social beings. For example, downward comparison influences the development of self-concept by inducing negative affect as people compare themselves with peers or others they deem inferior or less fortunate. In this way, downward comparison augments the development of self-concept by improving a person's biased well-being as they consider their consequence relatively less undesirable (Lee et al., 2019). Downward comparison influences self-concept across races and ethnicities in that individuals are likely to experience prejudice about other ethnic-racial groups, including a heightened tendency to conform to their group-based identity and expectations while downplaying the influence of different groups on their self-concept. In this context, downward comparison influences self-concept by driving people to develop a stronger association with their racial or ethnic group's values and culture (Wilson & Leaper, 2022). Physical attractiveness idealized images influence self-concept development by creating positive or negative evaluations of one's weight, body, or body parts based on supposedly admirable traits or standards of masculinity or attractiveness, thus reducing satisfaction with one's attractiveness. For example, constant exposure to idealized images depicting physical attractiveness influences self-concept development by making people unc...
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