The self-evaluation maintenance model is a psychological theory that explains how individuals maintain their self-esteem in relation to others by managing their social comparisons. It suggests that when someone close to us performs better than we do in an area we consider important, we experience a threat to our self-esteem, which can lead us to either downplay the importance of that area or distance ourselves from the successful individual. This model highlights the dynamics of social influence on our cognitive processes, particularly regarding self-assessment and emotional responses.
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