The Importance of Social Versus Temporal Comparison Appraisals Among Older Adults1

Abstract

It has been suggested that social comparisons become less frequent and less important to one's self‐evaluation, and temporal comparisons become more frequent and more important to self‐evaluation in later life. In this study, the influence of social and temporal comparison appraisals on global self‐ratings in 3 domains (health, income, and memory) was assessed among individuals ranging in age from 53 to 90 years. Although social comparison appraisals were significantly related to self‐ratings in all 3 domains, temporal comparison appraisals were only related to self‐rated memory. There was also no evidence that the effect of social or temporal comparison appraisals on self‐evaluations differed with age among our sample of middle‐aged and older adults. Social comparison appraisal appears to be a viable mechanism by which esteem can be preserved in old age, despite increasing loss and impairment.

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