Rack, Nina (2023) The Effect of Upward Social Comparison on Student Athletes' Performance: The Role of Self-Approach Goals and Envy. Master thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
Social Comparison Theory suggests that individuals compare themselves to others in order to evaluate their skills and abilities. Comparison is also a prominent phenomenon in sports, but its impact on performance is understudied. The current study investigates the effects of upward social comparison on the sport performance of student athletes (Mage = 12) at the Topsport Talent school in Groningen. It was hypothesized that student athletes who compare themselves upwards would be more likely to set self-approach goals and in turn would show higher levels of sport performance. It was further expected that student athletes who experience benign envy would be more likely to set self-approach goals as a result of comparing themselves upward, whereas student athletes who show malicious envy would be less likely to set self-approach goals as a result of upward social comparison. Data was collected through an online questionnaire using Qualtrics and analyzed using PROCESS macro for SPSS. No significant mediation effect of self-approach goals on the relationship between upward social comparison and sport performance was found. Contrary to expectations, benign envy negatively moderated the relationship between upward social comparison and self-approach goals. Malicious envy did not have a significant moderation effect, but was found to significantly mediate the relationship between upward social comparison and self-approach goals. These findings suggest that upward social comparison can motivate student athletes to adopt self-approach goals, but highlight the potential detrimental effect of malicious envy on goal-setting. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, providing insights into the complex interplay between social comparison, envy, goal-setting, and sport performance. Keywords: student athletes, upward social comparison, envy, self-approach goals, sport performance
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
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| Supervisor name: | Huijgen, B.C.H. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | Talent Development and Creativity (TDC) [Master Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Jul 2023 08:35 |
| Last Modified: | 25 Jul 2023 08:35 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/2594 |
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