Social Comparisons in Migration and Inequality Studies: A Literature Review and Evidence from a Pilot Study

Abstract

Theories and research in the area of social comparisons assume that the tendency toward such comparisons is universal. When investigating what people tend to focus on when making comparisons, many scholars have dealt with questions such as: with whom; under what circumstances; and in which realms? But one question has remained almost unexplored: what role does the migration experience play in social comparisons? In this paper, we draw attention to this important research topic. Qualitative analysis showed that migrants’ transnational comparisons were relevant to perceived inequalities. Here, we present some quantitative evidence concerning migrants’ social comparisons based on the pilot study, which involved 200 first- and second-generation Turkish migrants in Germany. The findings indicate that the migration experience and transnational comparisons are important to some of these migrants, such as those who view the emotional experience (e.g., the extent of social support, respect, and recognition) as being better in Turkey. Data from this pilot study also provide insights into the possible challenges of sociological social comparison studies, which we discuss in this paper.