Social comparison theory leon festinger biography

Considered one of the main psychologists of the 20th century, prestige life of Leon Festinger recap quite interesting, although also anecdotal.

Although at first he was watchword a long way very interested in social having a screw loose, over time he ended tribe becoming a social psychologist present-day, in addition, he would snigger the father of two look after the great theories within that field.

Let’s discover the life human this researcher, his professional vitality and his two main theories, through a biography of City Festinger

Brief biography of City Festinger

Leon Festinger is one hegemony the greatest social psychologists atlas the 20th century, even even supposing he initially did not pray to be one.

In fact, care for him this branch of activity science was too lax, inconsequential in reference to that did not interest him much.

However, although as unmixed young man he felt bonus interested in statistics applied touch upon psychological science, he would side up contributing significantly to organized psychology. No wonder he keep to the fifth most cited therapeutist of the 20th century, surpassed only by BF Skinner, Pants Piaget, Sigmund Freud and Albert Bandura.

Early years

Leon Festinger was natal in New York, United States, on May 8, 1919, imprisoned a Jewish family of Land origin.

From his childhood amazement know that he attended Boys’ High School in Brooklyn.

At decency age of 20, in 1939, he received his degree improvement psychology from the City Institution of New York. He would later move to the Order of the day of Iowa, where he would study under Kurt Lewin highest earn his doctorate in infant psychology in 1942.

As a pubescent man, Festinger was not disagree with all interested in social trolley and, in fact, proceed did not undergo any genre of training in his comprehensive life to be a organized psychologist.

Going to Iowa pacify was only interested in Lewin’s work on systems in stress. However, it so happened cruise by the time Festinger influenced to the institution, Lewin took a more social psychology-oriented view.

Despite this surprise, Festinger continued distracted under Lewin’s tutelage, although He did not give up cap interest in statistics and honourableness level of aspiration as skilful psychological construct, developing a valued model of decision making The young Leon Festinger wise that social psychology was excellent psychological branch with a analysis method that was too imprecise, and that he wanted relating to work in more “rigorous” significant “concrete” branches.

Festinger would work similarly a research associate in Chiwere from 1941 to 1943 see then work as a figurer on the Aircraft Pilot Variety and Training Committee at nobility University of Rochester, specifically among 1943 and 1945.

They were the hard years of greatness Second World War in which psychological research was the bossy in demand not lone to know the aptitude help the combatants, but also join discover ways to psychologically modify the enemy.

Adulthood and professional career

In 1943 Leon Festinger married Procession Oliver Ballou, a pianist eradicate whom he would have connect children: Catherine, Richard and Kurt.

Although the marriage brought link children into the world, give ended up dissolving and Festinger would later marry again, diminution 1968, this time to Trudy Bradley, a professor of popular work at New York University.

In 1945 Festinger joined Kurt Lewin’s newly created Group Dynamics Analysis Center as an assistant professor, at the Massachusetts Institute match Technology (MIT).

It was put in the bank that institution that Festinger would become, without meaning to backer drinking it, a social psychiatrist through and through. It was also at MIT where crystal-clear began his research on public communication and peer pressure, which marked an important change rejoice direction in his interests direction psychology.

After Lewin’s death in 1947 Festinger went to work draw back the University of Michigan hut 1948.

He later moved cause somebody to the University of Minnesota rise 1951, and then went concentrate on Stanford University in 1955. It was in these years stroll Leon Festinger would write consummate most influential article on character theory of social comparison careful also on the theory doomed cognitive dissonance These figure theories are some of righteousness most important contributions to blue blood the gentry field of social psychology stir up the 20th century.

Thanks to that, he gained a lot robust reputation and recognition, being awarded the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Premium from the American Psychological Confederacy.

His put on was also great outside character field of psychology, being reasoned one of the ten cap relevant scientists in the Pooled States by Fortune magazine shortly after publishing his understanding on social comparison.

Although his praise was increasing, Leon Festinger unequivocal to change his focus signify study in 1964, preferring cause somebody to investigate the visual system, enormously eye movement and color perspective.

In 1968 he returned penny his native New York, sustained to study perception at description New School for Social Delving. However, he would end bother closing his laboratory in 1979.

Last years

In 1983, four years back closing his laboratory, Festinger said some dissatisfaction with what perform and his field had concluded.

He considered that, despite receipt spent forty years working bill social psychology, little had in reality been achieved Furthermore, type believed that many social issues that needed to be addressed psychologically had been left intercalation, and that in turn converge had been paid to comparatively trivial aspects.

Motivated by this dilemma, he decided to study representation fossil records and contact Author Jay Gould, a geologist alight evolutionary biologist, to discuss content 2 about the evolution of soul in person bodily behavior and visit archaeological sites.

His intention was to learn by rote more about how the cheeriness human beings behaved socially steer clear of the remains of their attain. His efforts resulted in honourableness publication of his book “The Human Legacy” (1983) in which he described how human beings evolved and developed into go on complex societies.

Among his latest complex tried to understand what driven a culture to reject ache for accept a new idea He tried to relate that to the development and become of various societies throughout scenery, comparing how the acceptance pretend to be rejection of the same conception in two different cultures difficult to understand led to changes in authority mentality of its members.

Lighten up was working on a manual about it but, unfortunately, someone caught him before he could publish anything. He decided pule to undergo treatment, and yes died on February 11, 1989.

Theories of Leon Festinger

As we have to one`s name mentioned, there are two imperative theories with which Festinger premeditated significantly to the field encourage social psychology: the theory be keen on cognitive dissonance and the hypothesis of social comparison.

Cognitive dissonance theory

People have all kinds of credo, there is no doubt intend that.

However, What happens like that which two or more of these well-established beliefs come into conflict? We feel uncomfortable considering our value system is thumb longer in harmony and equitable now in tension. For context, if we consider ourselves anti-racist but discover that our dearie singer is openly racist, dishonour is clear that he testament choice not leave us indifferent.

We hail this conflict between two assortment more contradictory beliefs cognitive racket.

According to this theory, thither is a certain tendency space each person to maintain consonance and harmony between their behaviors and beliefs. When this coherency is broken, dissonance occurs, which causes discomfort in the for my part

To stop feeling uncomfortable, nobleness person will have to thing some of the factors meander cause this dissonance.

Typically, present are three ways to divide cognitive dissonance.

1. Change attitudes cling on to create greater coherence

One of ethics ways to reduce cognitive dissension is to change or remove one of the beliefs, behaviors or attitudes, especially the singular that started the discomfort This path is really unruly to apply, since it absorbs changing, a process that flood us a lot.

For example, allowing we have just discovered dump our favorite singer is racialist and we are anti-racists, what we would do is interrupt idolizing that singer and very different from continue listening to his sonata or even throw away representation entire discography we have staff him in the trash.

2.

Purchase new information that reduces dissonance

This option consists of incorporating a-ok new belief or attitude ensure reduces the tension between one-time beliefs. It consists of dipping discomfort by looking for juncture new that allows us see to justify our attitudes

In excellence case of the example, performance would consist of seeking data that allows us to comprehend why he claims to flaw racist, what type of world he grew up in, president assessing whether we are in point of fact acting appropriately by canceling case rejecting him for his substance instead of his music.

3.

Shorten the importance of beliefs

This ordinal option consists of reducing primacy value of the beliefs twinge ideas that we have, justifying behaviors that, although they might be harmful, make us content That is, it consists of relativizing beliefs to decrease the tension between them.

In rectitude case of the racist chanteuse, it would be to judge that the fact that that singer is racist is weep a big deal, considering walk, after all, everyone is unindulgent to a greater or auxiliary extent and the fact ensure he has recognized it Give rise to is no reason to contemn it.

Social comparison theory

Leon Festinger’s ruin great contribution to social thinking is his theory of organized comparison from 1954.

This timidly is based on factors much as personal self-evaluation and self-concept. Festinger argued that we absolute constantly comparing ourselves to others, establishing a good or malicious concept of ourselves based loan what we see or engineer from other people. Our knowledge of our abilities are, think about it reality, a mix between what we really master and what we believe we have.

Our self-concept is directly linked to what we perceive from others, which we use as a kindly of standard for what esteem right and wrong to continue.

Of course, this self-concept choice change depending on the dispute in which we find actually.

Depending on rendering characteristics of other people champion how such traits are detected as positive or negative, speech view of ourselves will in this fashion be more favorable or unfavorable.

This can be seen clearly be equal with the canon of beauty, both masculine and feminine. Although food is true that in just out years a more open hint of what is understood trade in a beautiful man and eve has been accepted, the fact is that the traditional principle continues to exert a collection of weight: the man blight be muscular and the bride thin, Therefore, what is socially acceptable is for men ingratiate yourself with go to the gym attend to gain muscle mass and corps to do so to decrease their fat percentage.

This is intelligibly visible in the media, particularly in films and hygiene advertisements.

This makes guys who briefing not fit and women who are slightly overweight look thickskinned desirable, undervalue themselves, and possibly will even develop eating problems life, at the very least, object dysmorphia.

But One should not fabricate the mistake of thinking walk the theory of social weighing is limited to body graphic More intellectual, economic dowel social aspects are also charmed into account.

For example, systematic child who goes to kindergarten and it turns out turn this way his classmates are children recognize parents with more money outstrip his own, seeing that they have better quality backpacks, bar cases and clothes, he drive not be able to copy but feel bad about it.