Same meaning but different feelings: Different expressions influence satisfaction in social comparisons |
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| Authors: | Yi Song Xiaofei Xie Hui Zhang |
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| Affiliation: | 1. School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China;2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China |
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| Abstract: | The same social comparison information may be expressed in different ways (e.g. ‘I am better than him’ versus ‘he is worse than me’). The results of four studies indicated that the way social comparison is expressed can affect an individual's satisfaction (i.e. ‘better’ versus ‘worse’). Specifically, in upward comparisons, the expression ‘I am worse than him’ makes individuals feel less satisfied than the expression ‘he is better than me’. In downward comparisons, those who use the expression ‘I am better than him’ are more satisfied than those who use the expression ‘he is worse than me’. The motivation of information processing acted as the mediator. |
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| Keywords: | direction of comparison framing effect social comparison |
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