Antecedents and consequences of the frequency of upward and downward social comparisons at work

• Published in: Organizational behavior and human decision processes 2007, Vol.102 (1), p.59-75
• Main Authors: Brown, Douglas J., Ferris, D. Lance, Heller, Daniel, Keeping, Lisa M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitudes; Comparative Analysis; Core self-evaluations; Economic sociology; Human resources; Institutional Environment; Job attitudes; Job Satisfaction; Job search; Mathematical models; Organizational behavior; Predictor Variables; Role Conflict; Self evaluation; Self Evaluation (Individuals); Self-perception; Social Attitudes; Social psychology; Social status; Structural Equation Models; Studies; Upward and downward social comparison; Work place
• ISSN: 0749-5978; 1095-9920
• DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2006.10.003

The current paper examines the dispositional and situational antecedents, as well as the attitudinal and behavioral consequences, of the frequency of upward and downward social comparisons. We predicted social comparison frequency would be influenced by uncertainty-related antecedents, and that social comparisons in organizations would be characterized by contrast, not assimilation, effects. A large and occupationally diverse sample of 991 employed adults was surveyed at three separate points in time over a 12–16 week period. Our results, based on structural equation modeling, indicated that (a) role ambiguity, task autonomy, and core self-evaluations were significant predictors of upward social comparison, (b) upward social comparison was significantly negatively related to job satisfaction and affective commitment, (c) downward social comparison was significantly positively related to job satisfaction and affective commitment, and (d) upward and downward social comparisons had significant positive and negative indirect effects on the frequency of job search behaviors, respectively. The findings are discussed in terms of their general implications for understanding the importance of directional social comparison processes in organizational settings.