Festinger's Social Comparison Using McGregor's Theory X/Y: Investigating Biasness among Jordanian Employees?

Abstract

This paper investigates the use of Festinger’s social comparison theory and McGregor's theory X/Y to test the social comparison bias between self-evaluation and peer-evaluation of employees using the criteria of each of the two theories X and Y. This data was collected using a random sample of employees in various major Jordanian companies. The data uses an exploratory descriptive analysis approach to identify the differences between self-evaluation and peer-evaluation. The results showed that employees tend to have a positive view of themselves compared to their peers. This suggests that the social comparison theory falls short when creating the criteria of vertical comparison. Furthermore, when creating a common method of evaluation, the results suggest a biased approach of self-verification rather than self-assessment.