Have you noticed that we are constantly comparing ourselves to others? With other students at school, with other drivers in traffic, with our colleagues at work. As a result of this comparison, we often think that we are better than others in a self-confident way. Sounds a little narcissistic, right?
There are many situations where this phenomenon, which is also called the above-average effect in Turkish, is for our benefit and our detriment. Before we move on to these, let’s look at the scientific background.
“What is a better than average effect?” To answer the question, we need to go back to 1965.
Social psychologists Edward E. Jones and Steven J. Berg coined the concept of the better than average effect in 1965, which explains many human behaviors. According to this concept, people generally tended to see themselves as superior or more kind-hearted than the majority. Later, when the researchers investigated the reason for this situation, they listed a few items:
Researchers think that believing we are above average may give us an evolutionary advantage.
According to this theory; Because people see themselves as superior to other people, their self-confidence increases, they feel good and thus they perform better. After seeing its benefits in this way, we may have continued it from primitive people until today.
The scientific explanation for the phrase “no one says my yogurt is sour” may be “social comparison theory”.
According to this theory, another reason for the above-average effect is the social comparison theory. In other words, people determine how good they are by comparing themselves to other people. However, when comparing themselves to other people, they are unable to focus more on the shortcomings and faults of others and not see their own faults. When this is the case, people remain in an illusion that can cause them to see themselves as superior to other people.
Now that we’ve talked about its history and causes, let’s see how it reflects on our ordinary lives: it may do more harm than good.
If we look at the benefits of the concept for us; In the first place, it may be that people are more motivated to achieve their goals because they are under this illusion. In second place, it may help people to perform better by increasing their self-confidence.
Let’s make it concrete with examples that it is difficult to face failure.
First, let’s look at the losses reflected on us in business performance. If the person sees himself as superior to his colleagues in business life and aims for a high position, he may experience great disappointment if he cannot reach this goal. The same can happen with academic success. Students who think that they are smarter than other students may experience disappointment when they do not get the expected score in the exams.
An example can be given via drivers. Studies have found that drivers generally say they are better drivers than the general public. It is thought that this situation may also be a cause of traffic accidents. Because it is thought that drivers who see themselves better can follow traffic rules less.
It is thought that this phenomenon may cause prejudice and discrimination by reducing the differences between people. It is thought to be more effective especially when people come from different cultures or different lifestyles.
We mentioned that this phenomenon can be seen in a wide range of human behaviors. The last example of this is physical appearance, whose importance has increased considerably today. Studies show that the majority of people think they have a better appearance than others. In general, when we find ourselves to be more beautiful/handsome than others, this can cause us to have some unrealistic expectations. To some extent, this can make it difficult for us to accept ourselves as we are.
The importance of learning this concept for us is about being more objective.
The way to cope with this concept, which people are attracted to like magnets and has difficulty resisting, is to evaluate ourselves correctly, to have a realistic perspective and to set realistic goals.
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