Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Social Comparison Theory -3

One of the reasons why we may be disliked by people even though we don't have any personal strife against them is grounded in the social comparison theory. It is not wrong to have a 'good' feeling about ourselves. However, if we are not aware of social comparisons we make subconsciously with others, we may unknowingly dislike people who may have better attributes than us. For instance, some people cannot stand others who are better off than themselves physically, financially, spiritually, vocationally, intellectually or personality-wise.

Individuals who dislike others that are better than themselves have a poor image of the self. In psychological terms 'we see others the way we see ourselves'. If we have a poor self-image of ourselves, then we tend to dislike others who are different or better off from us. If we have good self-image we tend to look at others by appreciating their unique traits, character or skills.

The Word of God exhorts us to consider others better than ourselves
Philippians 2:3 Living Bible (TLB)
Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.

The above scripture should be interpreted with caution. The scripture is not stating that we should have a low self-esteem while perceiving others better than us. However, Apostle Paul is stating that we appreciate each individual's unique attribute, skill, talent or character while not suffering from low confidence or self-esteem. If we can learn to adopt this attitude then there wouldn't be much reason to dislike someone unreasonably.

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