Social Comparison Tendency Scale – Chinese Version

Description

Social comparison theory, proposed by Festinger in 1954, posits that individuals have an inherent need to evaluate their own abilities and qualities. When objective standards for self-evaluation are lacking, individuals tend to compare themselves to others in their social group to fulfill their self-evaluation needs. This process is referred to as social comparison. Wood (1996) defined social comparison as the psychological process of comparing oneself with others, emphasizing that the evaluations made during the comparison process are not entirely objective. The main purpose of social comparison is to gain information about oneself. There are four widely accepted motivations for social comparison: self-evaluation, self-improvement, self-enhancement, and self-protection. In everyday life, everyone engages in social comparison, which is often an automatic and unconscious psychological process. Social comparison orientation refers to the tendency of some individuals to prefer social comparison over others. Gibbons and Buunk (1999) first introduced the concept of social comparison orientation and defined it as the personality tendency of individuals to engage in social comparison. Social comparison orientation significantly affects individuals’ emotional attitudes, relationship development, and behavior. High social comparison orientation can increase feelings of jealousy and depression, lower self-efficacy, subjective well-being, and body satisfaction (Wang Mingji et al., 2006; Zhang Yanping, 2017); compared to individuals with low social comparison orientation, those with high social comparison orientation experience higher self-uncertainty (such as low self-esteem), greater empathy, and are more prone to activating negative self-perceptions and negative emotions (Guo Shubin & Huang Xiting, 2010).

Authors and Contact Email

Wang Wanshuai, Contact Email: information not available

Purpose

To measure the social comparison orientation of individuals.

Test Year

1999; revised in 2006 by Wang Mingji et al.

Administration Method and Scoring

The Social Comparison Orientation Scale (SCTS) developed by Gibbons and Buunk includes 11 items. Respondents report their level of agreement on a five-point Likert scale (1 = “completely disagree”; 5 = “completely agree”). Sample items include: “I often compare the situation of my loved ones (boyfriend/girlfriend, family, etc.) with others,” and “If I want to know how well I am doing on a task, I compare it with others’ results.” Data collection was conducted on MTurk, ensuring a diverse demographic sample. Participants were guaranteed anonymity and were compensated for completing the survey.

Reliability and Validity

The internal consistency reliability coefficient of the scale is α = 0.83.

Factors and Subscales

The scale measures general social comparison tendencies, including aspects of self-evaluation and self-enhancement.

Keywords

Social Comparison, Social Comparison Orientation, Self-evaluation, Emotional Attitudes

Items in Chinese

1. 我经常将我的亲人（男朋友或女朋友，家人等）的状况与其他人做比较。
2. 我常常将自己的行为处事同别人做对比。
3. 如果我想知道我自己的一件事情完成得如何，我会拿它和别人完成的结果做比较。
4. 我经常将我在社交上（例如社交技巧，人气）的表现与他人对比。
5. 我不是那种经常和别人比较的人。
6. 我经常将自己生活中所取得的成就与其他人的相比较。
7. 我喜欢与他人探讨相通的意见和经验。
8. 我经常试图找出和我面临类似问题的人。
9. 我总是想知道其他人在面临和我类似的处境时会做什么。
10. 如果我想更多地了解某些事情，我会试着找出别人对此的看法。
11. 我从来没有把自己在生活遇到的状况和其他人的相提并论。

Items in English

1. I often compare the situation of my loved ones (boyfriend/girlfriend, family, etc.) with others.
2. I often compare my actions and behaviors with others.
3. If I want to know how well I am doing on a task, I compare it with others’ results.
4. I often compare my social performance (such as social skills, popularity) with others.
5. I am not the type of person who frequently compares myself to others.
6. I often compare my achievements in life with those of others.
7. I enjoy discussing shared opinions and experiences with others.
8. I often try to find out about people who face similar problems as I do.
9. I always want to know what others would do in similar situations.
10. If I want to learn more about something, I try to find out others’ views on the matter.
11. I never compare my life situations with those of others.

References

王汪帅.信号迷失效应：消费者进行权力印象管理时的自我选择与实际结果的冲突[D].上海交通大学,2018.DOI:10.27307/d.cnki.gsjtu.2018.000265.
王明姬,王垒,施俊琦.社会比较倾向量表中文版的信效度检验[J].中国心理卫生杂志,2006,(05):302-305+316.
赵晓月.美貌与物质：自我感知外表吸引力与物质主义的关系及其作用机制[D].西北师范大学,2023.DOI:10.27410/d.cnki.gxbfu.2023.002064.
李佳焱.大学生社会比较、一般自我概念与物质主义价值观关系研究[D].浙江理工大学,2022.DOI:10.27786/d.cnki.gzjlg.2022.001076.
Gibbons F X, Buunk B P. Individual differences in social comparison: development of a scale of social comparison orientation[J]. Journal of personality and social psychology, 1999, 76(1): 129.