Our answer to the “How am I doing?” question depends on our own past experiences, aspirations, and expectations, but the question is virtually never asked or answered in a social vacuum. “How am I doing?” almost always carries “compared to others” in parentheses. Social comparison provides information that helps people evaluate experiences. Many experiences are ambiguous enough that we aren’t completely sure what to make of them. Is a B+ a good grade on an exam? Is your marriage going well? Is there reason to worry because your teenage son is into head-banging music? Are you sufficiently
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