College students who are completing their thesis face many challenges and feel more negative emotions than when they were in the middle years of their studies. This pressure has the potential to impact their psychological well-being. They tend to look for positive comparisons in their academic achievements by comparing their abilities and academic achievements with others’. This study investigates the role of social comparison in the academic setting on the psychological well-being of students who are engaging on their thesis. Data were collected through an online survey from 152 participants state and private universities in Indonesia (female = 78.3%: Mage = 21,80). Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale and the Academic Social Comparison Scale are used to measure students’ psychological well-being and social comparison in academic settings. The results indicate that social comparison contributes 16.1% to the psychological well-being of students. Both types of social comparison, upward and downward comparison negatively influenced psychological well-being. Hence, the more often a person compares himself/herself to others, his/her psychological well-being tends to decline. This study also found that gender is correlated with psychological well-being, and age as well has a relationship both with downward social comparison and upward social comparison in academic settings. These findings have important implications in understanding how social comparison can influence the psychological well-being of students who are engaging in their thesis, and emphasize the important role of downward social comparison and upward social comparison in academic settings.

Authors:
Linda Primana, Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia
Nadya Larissa Dewi, Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Linda Primana is currently an Associate Professor of Faculty of Psychology Universitas Indonesia. My current research topic related to Psychological Wellbeinng and Career Adaptability in higher education.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Wednesday Schedule

Bookmark

---

A Note to Presenters

To enhance academic profiles and showcase research, we encourage all presenters and co-presenters to include links to their public LinkedIn, ResearchGate profile, and research websites. Presenters may update their bio for their presentation by completing the form linked below by October 22, 2024.
- Presenter Information Update Form
Submitted changes will be reflected on November 01, 2024

Additionally, presenters should also update their IAFOR account details if there have been any changes to affiliations or biographies.
- https://submit.iafor.org/my-account/edit-account