10.1177/0146167204271634PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETINLocke / HORIZO TAL D MENSION OF SOCIA COMPARISON Connecting the Horizontal Dimension of Social Comparison With Self-Worth and Self-Confidence

Multilevel modeling of undergraduates (N = 229) event-contingent records of naturalistic social comparison experiences revealed distinct correlates of the horizontal (similar-different) dimension and vertical (better-worse) dimension of compari-sons. Complementing past studies showing associations between the horizontal dimension and communal dispositions and expe-riences, the current study showed that the horizontal dimension also is associated with agentic dispositions and experiences such as self-worth and self-confidence. For example, participants per-ceived more similarity when comparing with targets ’ desirable attributes than with targets ’ undesirable attributes and perc-eiving similarities with desirable target attributes (and dissimi-larities with undesirable target attributes) enhanced their self-confidence. Participants higher in self-worth (high in self-esteem and low in depression) were more discriminating in their experi-ences of similarity and connection; specifically, they reported more similarity and connection when targets ’ attributes were desirable but less connection the more targets ’ attributes were inferior to their own