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Experimental Psychology (Russia)
2025. Vol. 18, no. 4, 164–177
doi:10.17759/exppsy.2025180410
ISSN: 2072-7593 / 2311-7036 (online)

Upward and downward social comparison of physical appearance: age aspect

 
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Abstract

Context and relevance. Research has found that people compare themselves to others to varying degrees, leading to the introduction of the construct “social comparison orientation”. However, when it comes to age-related characteristics of social comparison based on appearance, this issue remains unexplored in existing studies. The novelty of our study lies in an attempt to empirically examine this issue. Objective: to examine the presence of age-related characteristics of the tendency to compare oneself with others based on physical appearance and to correlate the corresponding patterns with those characteristics of the general tendency toward subject-oriented comparison in people of corresponding age categories. Hypotheses. There are age-related characteristics in the expression of a person's tendency to compare themselves with others based on physical appearance. There are age-related characteristics in the expression of the tendency toward subject-oriented comparison. Methods and materials. The study involved 217 people (83% women and 17% men) aged 19 to 54 years (M = 23.309; SD = 6.650). Participants completed the following measures: the Russian-language version of O'Brien's scales for assessing the tendency to upward (UPACS) and downward (DACS) comparisons of physical appearance, the ROOSS questionnaire by E.S. Samoylenko, and the INCOM scale. Results. Confirmation was obtained of some age-specificity in the tendency to compare one's own appearance with the appearance of others. Significant differences were shown between the groups of adolescents and adults in terms of the tendency to upward comparison of appearance — representatives of adolescent age are more likely than adults to compare their appearance with people they consider more attractive. However, no statistically significant differences were found on the downward comparison scale of appearance. Correlation analysis revealed a number of weak, but statistically significant, negative relationships, indicating a general trend toward a decrease in the propensity for subject-oriented comparison with age. Conclusions. The main finding of this study is that adolescence is characterized, compared to adulthood, by greater involvement in self-comparison with others. This finding is important for further theoretical study of the age-related dynamics of comparison processes and for the practice of psychological counseling for young people.

General Information

Keywords: : social cognition, social comparison, social comparison orientation, upward comparison, downward comparison, interpersonal perception, interpersonal communication, appearance perception

Journal rubric: Social Psychology

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/exppsy.2025180410

Funding. The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project number 25-18-00823, https://rscf.ru/project/25-18-00823/.

Received 10.11.2025

Revised 21.11.2025

Accepted

Published

For citation: Ananyeva, K.I., Demidov, A.A., Nosulenko, V.N., Samoylenko, E.S. (2025). Upward and downward social comparison of physical appearance: age aspect. Experimental Psychology (Russia), 18(4), 164–177. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/exppsy.2025180410

© Ananyeva K.I., Demidov A.A., Nosulenko V.N., Samoylenko E.S., 2025

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

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Information About the Authors

Kristina I. Ananyeva, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Associate Professor, Research Fellow, Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Associate Professor, Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis (Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis), Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1666-3269, e-mail: ananyevaki@ipran.ru

Alexander A. Demidov, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Associate Professor, Department of General Psychology, Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Experimental Psychology, MSUPE, Researcher, Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6660-5761, e-mail: demidov@inpsycho.ru

Valeriy N. Nosulenko, Doctor of Psychology, Chief Researcher, Laboratory of Cognitive Processes and Mathematical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chief Researcher, Institute of Experimental Psychology, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0591-2335, e-mail: nosulenkovn@ipran.ru

Elena S. Samoylenko, Doctor of Psychology, Chief Researcher, Laboratory of Cognitive Processes and Mathematical Psychology, Institute of Psychology of RAS, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7980-3903, e-mail: samoylenkoes@ipran.ru

Contribution of the authors

Kristina I. Ananyeva — research concept; research planning; data collection; application of statistical methods for data analysis; manuscript writing.

Aleksandr A. Demidov — research planning; data collection; visualization of research results; participation in manuscript writing; manuscript design.

Valery N. Nosulenko — theoretical justification of the study; study supervision; participation in manuscript writing.

Elena S. Samoylenko — consultations on the theoretical justification of the study; participation in manuscript writing.

All authors participated in the discussion of the results and approved the final text of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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