Rethinking Social Comparison Through Self-Cultivation: An East Asian Perspective

Human beings possess an inherent drive for self-understanding, often pursued through social comparison . However, Western research highlights its psychological costs: upward comparison (with superior others) can lower self-esteem, evoking negative emotions and at times reducing effort, whereas downward comparison (with inferior others) may inflate self-esteem, fostering arrogance and diminishing motivation. This theoretical paper examines how East Asian self-cultivation philosophies transform these challenges into constructive opportunities. In this framework, upward comparison fosters humility, strengthens learning motivation, and evokes empathetic joy; downward comparison cultivates gratitude, encourages self-reflection, and deepens compassion. These positive transformations stem from distinctive East Asian self-concepts. Rather than defined solely by personal and social identities , the East Asian self draws upon three alternative identities: the ideal identity of sages and buddhas, the true-self identity grounded in inherent goodness, and the oneness identity that transcends self–other boundaries. These identities reorient self-esteem-driven motivations toward virtue development, self-improvement, and other-orientation—leading to more positive outcomes such as stable self-esteem, emotional equanimity, virtue, effort, and empathy. This article contributes to the social comparison literature by demonstrating how Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism offer transformative pathways for overcoming the challenges of social comparison, in line with humanistic psychology’s growth-oriented vision.