How do I measure up? Chapter 13 Social Psychology

As people, we are always concerned with how we are perceived by others and how we measure up to their abilities. Is he stronger than me? I bet I can take him in a fight? Did she get a better test score than me? People especially adolescents and young adults (which means us college students) are always trying to gain acceptance and reassurance that we are successful in life. As Leon Festinger's theory on social comparison states, "We evaluate our abilities and beliefs by comparing them with those of others." It struck me how often we are doing this in our everyday life. In physics class, we hope we did better than the rest of the class to get a better grade. At parties, we try to be the coolest person there by fitting the image of a good looking person who is confident and outgoing. We all try to outperform other people to the best of our abilities.

However, the greatest minds who impact our world don't necessarily achieve this by following the rest of the pack. Martin Luther King fought for what he thought was right and ignored the rest of his critics. Warren Buffet was probably teased for spending countless hours reading at the library in Nebraska instead of playing outside like a normal boy. I'm not saying you shouldn't try to compare yourself to others, because it is natural human behavior. But don't be afraid if you don't follow these social comparisons exactly like everyone else; your success maybe even greater than the rest.