social comparisons
Definition
Social comparisons refers to the process by which individuals evaluate their own views, societal position, and outcomes by comparing themselves to others, including at interpersonal, intragroup, intergroup, and temporal levels. Within acculturation research specifically, immigrant-origin individuals engage in such comparisons to assess their standing relative to majority group members, co-ethnics, or their own past circumstances, with consequences for acculturation strategies and psychological adaptation. Despite its pervasiveness, the comparative dimension of acculturation has been systematically overlooked: researchers typically compare groups from the outside rather than accounting for the comparisons acculturating individuals themselves make.
Sources: Verkuyten (2024)
Related Terms
- acculturation (1 shared article)
- integration paradox (1 shared article)
- immigrants (1 shared article)
Applications
Social Comparisons and the Integration Paradox
The integration paradox describes the pattern whereby structurally more integrated, higher-educated immigrants psychologically distance themselves from the host society rather than becoming more oriented toward it. Social comparison processes help explain this pattern: higher-educated immigrants are more likely to take similarly educated majority members as their relevant referent group, and when that comparison reveals lower-level employment, fewer opportunities, and unequal treatment, the resulting perception of unfair disadvantage produces feelings of relative deprivation. Those feelings, in turn, are associated with reduced host society belonging, lower national identification, and in some cases endorsement of political extremism.
Sources: Verkuyten (2024)
Social Comparisons and Relative Deprivation
Relative deprivation arises when a person perceives that they or their group face an unfair disadvantage in comparison with relevant others. Within acculturation contexts, higher-educated immigrants are particularly susceptible because increased contact with majority members makes that group a more salient comparison target, and the comparison tends to reveal disparities in employment level and socioeconomic outcomes that contradict the expectations raised by educational attainment.
Sources: Verkuyten (2024)
Social Comparisons and Acculturation Strategies
The type of comparison an immigrant makes, whether with co-ethnics, other minorities, majority members, or one's own past, can shape which acculturation strategies and adaptations are adopted across different life domains such as work, family, and politics. Situational context also conditions this relationship, as assimilative versus multicultural settings alter the salience of particular comparison targets and therefore the perceived costs and benefits of different orientations toward heritage and mainstream cultures.
Sources: Verkuyten (2024)
