Affective responses to social comparisons with extremely close others

Three experiments examined the hypothesis that the assimilation effect in people's responses to social comparisons (i.e., more pleasant responses to comparisons with successful others than to comparisons with unsuccessful others) on highly important dimensions would be strongest when people share an identity relationship with the target of comparison (i.e., an extremely close relationship in which people consider the target to be an important part of their identities). In Experiment 1, participants learned that a comparison target with whom they shared either an identity, unit, or non-Unit relationship had succeeded or failed a test in an important ability domain. The assimilation effect was strongest among participants who shared an identity relationship with the target. Experiment 2 revealed that the same pattern of effects was obtained when empathic responses were controlled. Experiment 3 revealed that the assimilation effect occurring among people who share an identity relationship with a target is stronger when people receive implicit social comparison feedback than when they receive explicit social comparison feedback. The results were discussed in terms of their relevance for current models of how closeness affects people's reactions to social comparisons.