Downward Social Belonging

In Banaji & Prentice (1994), research has portrayed social comparison as opportunity for self-enhancement. Individuals determine their own self worth based on how they stack up against others. Individuals have an internal drive to gain accurate self-evaluations across a variety of domains. In the absence of objective measures for self-verification and self-evaluation, individuals compare themselves to others in their social context to figure out how they are doing.

Self-comparison essentially has two specific types: upward social comparison and downward social comparison. Upward social comparison is an individual comparing themselves to people who are better than them to figure out how to improve (Banaji & Prentice, 1994, p. 304). Downward comparison is an individual comparing themselves to those who are not as proficient as they are or less fortunate in a given task (Banaji & Prentice, 1994, p. 303). Downward social comparison tends to foster high self-esteem and promote self-enhancement after failure. Upward social comparison serves models of self-improvement.

The purpose of social identity is to satisfy that need to belong, protect oneself from threats, and uncertainty reduction. It is only natural to want that sense of having positive relationships with others. When starting a new school, students often worry about belonging, especially when students face negative stereotypes. The purpose of this brief social belonging intervention is to help students realize their worries of belonging are both normal and temporary at first and will improve over time. This goal was to help them understand adversities they experience as new college students, not to prove that they do not belong, and to highlight chances for growth and