Judging progress
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
Social comparison shaped a beginner's view of her running when she judged every practice result against faster teammates rather than against her own earlier efforts. Undue weight fell on one stopwatch reading, even though the session had involved different tasks and starting conditions that made a single ranking incomplete. A flashy scoreboard began to detract from the practice by drawing attention away from instructions the group needed for the next activity. The coach asked participants to explain which information supported each judgment instead of treating every visible number as equally useful.
The beginner could recognize social comparison in her judgments without assuming that learning from other runners was always harmful or pointless. The coach reduced the undue emphasis on one reading by discussing the different conditions and the purpose of each task. Moving the flashing display prevented it from continuing to detract from the explanation of the next exercise. Participants still recorded results, but they could distinguish a relevant comparison from a distracting or disproportionate interpretation.
Before you move on
Look away from the passage. Can you explain each focus word in your own words?
Original fictional passages for vocabulary practice.