Leon Festinger's Social Comparison Theory. 
Festinger's original 1954 work posits a fundamental human drive to evaluate one's opinions and abilities, often using social comparisons with similar others. Subsequent research, detailed in the Crusius et al. (2022) review, expands on this, examining the motivations behind social comparison (self-evaluation, enhancement, improvement), the selection of comparison targets, and the resulting effects on self-perception, emotions (like pride and envy), and behaviour. A popular psychology article summarises these core tenets, highlighting upward and downward comparisons and their potential benefits and drawbacks.

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