The concept of self-evaluation maintenance theory supposes the ways to cope with the cognitive dissonance from comparing own self to the person who is better in the area that is critical for own self-esteem. It is possible to reduce the negative effect of this feeling by psychological alienation from this individual, improving own skills and competencies in the critical area, or persuading own self that this issue is not vital for the person. Therefore, the person’s reaction to the disturbing factor can be self-improvement, deliberate avoidance, or a shift of focus.
It is possible to find examples of this social psychology concept on all levels of interactions. When I had a similar situation, I tried to improve my competencies in the area central to my self-esteem. When I was a child, I competed with my friend in the grades I received, and her academic success made me study harder. At the same time, I observe a completely different reaction to self-evaluated maintenance than one of my acquaintances has. She tries to avoid situations when she has to compete with someone in the areas she finds critical for her. It is possible to find examples of the deliberate shift of focus in the behavior of larger social groups. For example, when the country cannot achieve economic stability, the government starts promoting the ideology that should substitute the need for financial prosperity.
The behavior of larger groups is interesting to study from the perspective of social psychology. The example of the shift of public attention from economic growth to ideological issues supports the discussed concept. It proves that the apparent solution is finding something more straightforward when there is no opportunity to achieve something critical for self-esteem. This example shows that social psychological theories can be successfully applied in the political discourse to manipulate citizens’ views.