During the past decade, social comparison processes have been the focus of considerable research and theorizing in social psychology. This volume, consisting of a series of original chapters by leading professionals in the field, presents the most advanced thinking and research on this topic. Contributors describe how the original social comparison theory -- formulated by Leon Festinger in the early 1950s -- has been modified as a result of new insights from attribution, social cognition, and self theories. A valuable source of state-of-the art information, it also discusses how comparison processes have increased understanding in applied areas, such as the study of stigmatized groups, minorities, and physically ill individuals.