title: The proxy model of social comparison for self-assessment of ability.
abstract: One purpose of the social comparison of abilities is to determine action possibilities-"Can I do X?" By comparing ourselves with a proxy who has attempted X, we can determine our likelihood of success. A good proxy is one who has performed the same as us on an initial task requiring the ability. In addition, however, a good proxy must be similar on related attributes so that we can be confident that the proxy's performance on the initial task was maximal. In the case of a task requiring multiple abilities, more than one proxy may be used.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Rochester.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wheeler
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Suls