Comparing to my mini-‐me: Social comparisons among siblings Claire Midgley, Gabriela Stafford, & Penelope Lockwood •
Introduction
Results
Results (Cont.)
Siblings s erve as frequent targets of s ocial comparison 1
In t erms of c omparison frequency in childhood, older siblings reported making less f requent upward comparisons (regardless of age gap) and more frequent downward comparisons (when the age gap was large).
After downward comparisons, all s iblings reported somewhat positive s elf-evaluations;; however, f or older siblings, f eeling c loser t o one’s y ounger s ibling was associated with less positive s elf-evaluations.
due to s hared genetics and environment2; h owever, we know relatively little about s ibling comparison p rocesses • Previous research h as d emonstrated that s ibling comparisons are more common in younger s iblings and siblings close in age3 • However, predictors of comparison frequency may d iffer for u pward vs. d ownward comparisons and s ibling closeness may moderate these effects • Additionally, b irth order and p sychological closeness may interact in d etermining the impact of u pward and downward s ibling comparisons on s elf-‐evaluations
Method 202 Mturk workers (124F;; Mage = 33.7) with one sibling completed a questionnaire assessing •
Birth order (116 older siblings)
•
Age difference (M = 4.5 years)
•
Closeness t o s ibling (1 = Not at all close, 5 = extremely close;;
Older
2
Frequency of upward comparisons t o t heir s ibling in childhood (0 = Never, 5 = Very frequent;; M = 3.8)
•
Frequency of downward comparisons in c hildhood (0
•
How participants f elt about t hemselves after upward comparisons t o t heir s iblings in c hildhood (-3 = much
= Never, 5 = Very frequent;; M = 3.8)
worse, +3 – much better;; M = -0.4)
How participants f elt about t hemselves after downward comparisons t o t heir s iblings in c hildhood (-3 = much worse, +3 – much better;; M = -0.4)
1
Younger Older
1
0.5
0
**
Larger age gap 0
Downward comparison frequency
Less close
5
More close
Discussion
4
Younger
3
Older
2
**
1 0 Smaller age gap
Larger age gap
After upward comparisons, all s iblings reported somewhat negative self-evaluations;; however, f eeling closer t o one’s s ibling was associated with less negative self-evaluations (regardless of birth order). Self-‐evaluations after u pward comparisons
M = 3.0)
•
Younger
3
Smaller age gap
2. Do b irth order and feelings of closeness to one’s s ibling moderate the impact of u pward and d ownward comparisons on s elf-‐evaluations?
•
1.5
4
Research Questions: 1. How are birth order and age d ifference related to frequency of d ownward and u pward comparisons among siblings?
Self-‐evaluations after d ownward comparisons
Upward comparison frequency 5
0
Ø Compared to y ounger s iblings, older s iblings make fewer upward comparisons, and more downward comparisons when t here is a large age gap Ø Feeling close t o one’s s ibling attenuates t he negative effects of upward c omparisons on s elf-evaluations, but, f or older s iblings, also attenuates t he positive effects of downward c omparisons Ø Future research s hould examine these processes in families with more than t wo children and investigate their effects on s ibling relationships and other outcomes
References & Acknowledgements
-‐0 .5 †
Younger Older
**
-‐1
1. Jensen, A. C ., Whiteman, S. D., Fingerman, K . L., & Birditt, K . S. ( 2013). “Life Still Isn’t Fair”: Parental Differential Treatment o f Young Adult Siblings. Journal of marriage and t he f amily, 75(2), 438–452. doi:10.1111/jomf.12002 2. Whiteman, S., McHale, S., & Soli, A. ( 2011). Theoretical P erspectives on Sibling Relationships. Journal of Family Theory & R eview, 3(2), 124–139. d oi:10.1111/j.1756-‐2 589.2011.00087.x 3. Jensen, A., P ond, A., & Padilla-‐Walker, L. (2015). Why C an’t I Be More Like My B rother? The R ole and Correlates of Sibling Social C omparison Orientation. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(11). d oi:10.1007/s10964-‐015-‐ 0327-‐8 This research was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to Penelope Lockwood.
-‐1 .5 Less close
More close
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