Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the moderating role of identity development and college year in the relation between upward social comparison and negative self-evaluation among college students. Based on the dual-cycle model proposed by Luyckx et al. (2006, 2008), we hypothesized that commitment variables (commitment making and identification with commitment) would moderate the negative effect of upward social comparison on self-evaluation. Additionally, we expected that the interaction between upward social comparison and identity development would vary between lower-year and upper-year students due to differences in the perceived attainability of the target’s success. A total of 121 undergraduate students completed a measure of identity development, were randomly assigned to either the upward social comparison condition or control condition, completed a self-evaluation measure, and reported their college year. As a result, we found significant three-way interactions among upward social comparison, college year, and commitment variables (marginally significant for commitment making). Specifically, the significant interaction between upward social comparison and commitment variables was observed only among upper-year students. This indicated that upper-year students with high commitment making or identification with commitment did not differ in their self-evaluation regardless of a condition they were assigned to, while those with low commitment making or identification with commitment exhibited lower self-evaluation in upward social comparison condition than the control condition.