Status and solidarity in social comparison: Agentic and communal values and vertical and horizontal directions

Social comparison involves positioning the self relative to others on a vertical or status dimension (ranging from upward to downward comparisons) and a horizontal or solidarity dimension (ranging from contrastive to connective comparisons). Across 3 studies in which 389 undergraduates recorded everyday social comparisons (n 4,417), downward and connective comparisons were rated as more helpful and mood enhancing than upward and contrastive comparisons. The effects of horizontal comparisons were greater for people for whom solidarity was an important value; however, the effects of vertical comparisons were not greater for people who valued status. The roles of the comparison target, topic, and situation were also explored; for example, noticing undesirable features of the target enhanced status but undermined solidarity. A large body of literature suggests that when people think about the relations between individuals, they think in terms of two broad dimensions—one of status, power, dominance, or agency, and one of solidarity, intimacy, friendliness, or communion (for a brief overview, see Wiggins & Trobst, 1999; for a variety of broader theoretical statements, see Bakan, 1966; R. Brown, 1965; Carson