Think about the last time you made an unscheduled visit to a physician, medical clinic, or hospital for some symptom or injury. Did you talk to anyone prior to going for medical consultation? With whom did you talk? Why? If you're like me when my foot mysteriously swelled up one morning last month, you probably talked with a relative and perhaps a friend or two. I wanted to know what they thought might be causing the swelling, whether they'd ever experienced anything like this, whether they would worry if it happened to them, and what I might do next. I learned a lot by comparing my mysterious symptoms with these social contacts: they suggested a sprain or an insect bite; that the swelling looked unusual; that, yes, they would worry if it was their foot; and that checking with the doctor at the clinic was probably a good idea. Not just any acquaintance or stranger would do for these consultations; I compared my symptoms with people I knew and trusted (though acquaintances or strangers would have done in a pinch). My comparisons were embedded in my personal social network of relatives and friends.

The answer to the question “Who compares with whom?” – a basic issue in research on social comparison – appears to have a great deal to do with “who is in contact with whom.”