Subjective social status, objective socioeconomic status, and cardiovascular risk in women.

OBJECTIVE: Subjective perceptions of personal social status may relate to health beyond the effects of objective socioeconomic status (SES). The authors examined the relationship between subjective social status (SSS) and psychosocial, behavioral, and physical cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged women. DESIGN: Ninety-two women (90.2% White) completed ladder-based, pictorial self-report measures of SSS relative to others in their community and in the United States. Psychosocial measures of depression, anxiety, pessimism, stress, and social support and behavioral risk factors of fruit and vegetable consumption, leisure physical activity, and body-mass index were obtained. In addition, women underwent measurement of clinic blood pressure and assessment of daytime ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP; DBP) over 2 consecutive days. RESULTS: Community SSS was significantly inversely related to anxiety, pessimism, stress, and daytime ambulatory DBP after controlling for objective SES and U.S. SSS. Women with lower U.S. SSS showed less healthy dietary and exercise behaviors and, contrary to predictions, lower clinic and ambulatory DBP. CONCLUSION: This study provides additional evidence that perceptions of one's position in the social hierarchy could have important health implications beyond the impact of objective SES. Further, the cardiovascular risk implications of perceived community versus U.S. social status appear to be distinct.     

Do We Know Where We Stand? Neighborhood Relative Income,Subjective Social Status,and Health

Bridging research on relative income and subjective social status (SSS), this study examines how neighborhood relative income is related to ones' SSS, and in turn, physical and mental health. Using a survey sample of 1807 U.S. adults, we find that neighborhood median income significantly moderates the relationship between household income and self‐reported physical and mental health. Low‐income individuals living in high‐income neighborhoods (i.e., relative disadvantage) report better physical and mental health than low‐income individuals living in low‐income neighborhoods. In addition, high‐income individuals living in low‐income neighborhoods (i.e., relative advantage) report higher SSS (relative to neighbors), whereas low‐income individuals living in high‐income neighborhoods (i.e., relative disadvantage) also report higher SSS. We draw from social comparison theory to interpret these results positing that downward comparisons may serve an evaluative function while upward comparisons may result in affiliation with better‐off others. Finally, we demonstrate that SSS explains the relationship between neighborhood relative income and health outcomes, providing empirical support for the underlying influence of perceived social position.     

Temporal bisection with trial referents.

In temporal bisection, the subject is required to compare the similarity of a probe duration with two referent durations. Two bisection experiments with human subjects are reported in which performance under three referent conditions was compared. In two of the conditions, no-referent and fixed-referent, the referent pair was constant throughout the session and was varied between sessions. In the no-referent condition, samples of the referents were presented at the beginning of a block of trials, but not on the probe trials. In contrast, in the fixed-referent condition, the referent pair was presented on each probe trial. In the third referent condition, roving-referent, the referent pair was also presented on each probe trial, but the values of the pair varied during a session rather than between sessions. The pseudologistic Model (PLM; Killeen, Fetterman, & Bizo, 1997) provided an excellent account of the data from all referent conditions and indicated that (1) the scalar variability was located in the perception of the probe and was independent of the structure of the bisection task, (2) the role of the referents was to set the criterion, (3) the probe was compared with the criterion rather than with the referents, and (4) the comparison of the probe with the criterion occurred even when trial referents were available.     

Temporal bisection with trial referents

In temporal bisection, the subject is required to compare the similarity of a probe duration with two referent durations. Two bisection experiments with human subjects are reported in which performance under three referent conditions was compared. In two of the conditions, no-referent and fixed-referent, the referent pair was constant throughout the session and was varied between sessions. In the noreferent condition, samples of the referents were presented at the beginning of a block of trials, but not on the probe trials. In contrast, in the fixed-referent condition, the referent pair was presented on each probe trial. In the third referent condition, roving-referent, the referent pair was also presented on each probe trial, but the values of the pair varied during a session rather than between sessions. The pseudologistic Model (PLM; Killeen, Fetterman, & Bizo, 1997) provided an excellent account of the data from all referent conditions and indicated that (1) the scalar variability was located in the perception of the probe and was independent of the structure of the bisection task, (2) the role of the referents was to set the criterion, (3) the probe was compared with the criterion rather than with the referents, and (4) the comparison of the probe with the criterion occurred even when trial referents were available.     

Social comparison processes in the experience of personal relative deprivation

Drawing on social comparison and equity theories, we investigated the role that perceived similarity of a comparison target plays in how resentful people feel about their relative financial status. In Study 1, participants tended to choose a comparison target who was better off, and they selected a target they perceived to be more similar than dissimilar along dimensions that surrounded their financial outcomes. In Study 1, perceived relative disadvantage was positively associated with resentment regardless of the perceived similarity of the comparison target. The results of Studies 2 to 5b clarified these findings by showing that being both similar and dissimilar to a target can cause resentment depending on the context. Using hypothetical and real social comparisons, we found that people are more dissatisfied with their financial outcomes when their comparative targets have the same background qualifications (i.e., are similar) but are financially better off (Studies 2, 3b, 4, and 5b). However, we also found that when the comparative financial contexts were similar (i.e., equal affluence), participants were more dissatisfied when their target for comparison had lower qualifications (i.e., was dissimilar; Studies 2, 3a, 4, and 5a). In all cases, perceptions of unfairness mediated the effects of social comparison on financial dissatisfaction. Taken together, these studies address some of the ambiguities around what it means to be similar to a target in the context of social comparisons of affluence, and they underscore the importance of perceived unfairness in the link between social comparison and resentment with one's financial status.     

Health,social comparisons,and psychological well-being: Their cross-time relationships

The purposes of this short-term longitudinal study were to investigate (a) stability and change in social comparisons across time; (b) the relationship between physical health and the use of social comparisons across time; (c) whether psychological well-being is best predicted by prior or concurrent social comparisons; and (d) the moderating effects of social comparisons. Community-dwelling elderly women (N=149) completed self-report instruments designed to measure social comparisons, psychological well-being, and physical health at two times, 2 years apart. Worse health at Time 1 predicted more frequent and less positive social comparisons at Time 2. Concurrent, but not prior, social comparisons contributed to a number of domains of psychological well-being. Further, the effects of prior health status on subsequent psychological functioning (Time 2) were moderated by social comparison processes. Women in poorest health who engaged in positive social comparisons showed less depression and anxiety and more positive relations with others at Time 2. Little support was found for the influence of prior psychological functioning on subsequent physical health.     

Having less,giving less: The effects of unfavorable social comparisons of affluence on people’s willingness to act for the benefit of others

Previous research has found a negative relationship between individual differences in personal relative deprivation (PRD; i.e., resentment stemming from the belief that one is worse off than similar others) and prosociality. Whether PRD causes reductions in people's willingness to act for the benefit of others, however, is yet to be established. Across six studies, we experimentally examined whether experiences of PRD via unfavorable (vs. favorable or lateral) social comparisons of affluence reduced prosociality toward known others and strangers. We found that making hypothetical (Study 1) or real (Study 2) unfavorable social comparisons of affluence in workplace contexts reduced participants’ organizational citizenship behavioral intentions. Furthermore, adverse social comparisons of affluence reduced generosity toward the targets of those comparisons during a Dictator Game (Studies 3 to 6). Across studies, we also measured participants’ subjective and objective socioeconomic status and found, contrary to previous theory and research, no consistent relationship between status and prosociality and no modulation of this relationship by either local or macro-level inequality. These results suggest that local, specific interpersonal comparisons of affluence play a more dominant role in people's willingness to act for the benefit of a comparison target than do their subjective or objective class rank or the prevailing income inequality of the state in which they reside.     

A contingent view of reactions to objective pay conditions: interdependence among pay structure characteristics and pay relative to internal and external referents

The authors studied the general proposition that because social comparisons are so central to how people react to pay, the effect of an important pay condition likely depends on a social pay comparison that is relevant to that condition. To investigate this, the authors used actual pay data on more than 2,000 public school teachers across more than 400 school districts and tested whether pay equity perceptions resulted from interactions among objective measures of structural (pay dispersion, entry-level pay, pay range maximum, external competitiveness) and individual (pay relative to internal referents, pay relative to external referents) pay conditions. Cross-level interactions indicated that pay relative to internal referents moderated how pay structure conditions related to pay equity perceptions. Additionally, within-level interactions indicated that the effect of employee standing in the external pay hierarchy depended on where one stood in the internal pay hierarchy; this dynamic emerged both for individual-level measures of current standing and for organization-level measures that suggested future standing.     

Pronoun resolution and discourse models.

Psychological investigations of pronoun resolution have implicitly assumed that the processes involved automatically provide a unique referent for every pronoun. We challenge this assumption and propose a new framework for studying pronoun resolution. Drawing on advances in discourse representation and global memory modeling, this framework suggests that automatic processes may not always identify a unique referent for a pronoun. In 9 experiments, we demonstrate that, unlike noun anaphors, pronouns sometimes do not produce relative facilitation of their referents in comparison with nonreferents. We argue that research on pronoun resolution must consider the discourse contexts in which pronouns are likely to occur.     

Managing intergroup attitudes among Hong Kong adolescents: Effects of social category inclusiveness and time pressure

Previous research has shown a widespread bias among Hong Kong adolescents against Chinese Mainlanders. Based on social identity and social cognitive theories, we examined the effects of identity frame switching (situational induction of social category inclusiveness) and time pressure (environmental constraints on social information processing) on Hong Kong adolescents' attitudes toward Chinese Mainlanders. Results indicated that Hong Kong adolescents had acquired a habitual tendency to make social comparisons within an exclusive regional framework of reference. This habitual tendency might lead to negative judgment biases toward Chinese Mainlanders, particularly when the adolescents made social judgments under time pressure. In addition, switching to an inclusive national frame of reference for social comparison attenuated negative intergroup attitudes. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Perception and Reactions to Inequity as a Function of Social Comparison Referents and Hierarchical Levels1

Perceptions and reactions to inequity may hinge on referents of comparison and also on employees' rank in the organization. This study examined how three comparison referents—internal same-rank, external same-rank and external whole-organization—and respondents' hierarchical status in the company influence perceptions of inequity. The study also examined the relationship of perceived inequity with affect, job satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment, and stress. Seventy-five employees randomly selected from the three hierarchical levels of a manufacturing company (managers, supervisors, and workers) were the respondents. Results suggest that when individuals made comparisons with external same-rank and external whole-organization referents they experienced more inequity than when they made internal same-rank comparisons. Managers in comparison to supervisors and workers perceived less inequity related to pay, general rules administration, promotion, company and fringe benefits, advancement opportunities, and social power. Perception of inequity was found to be negatively related to job involvement, job satisfaction, and affect, and positively related to stress. Results implicate the role of social comparison referents in the evaluation of organizational rewards and perceptions of inequity.     

Subjective social status and intergroup attitudes among ethnic majority and minority children in Portugal

A measure of subjective social status (SSS) was examined among high (White), and low (Black and Roma) ethnic status children in Portugal within a developmental design including 6–8‐year‐old and 9–12‐year‐old children. White children favoured their in‐group over the Black and Roma out‐groups on the SSS measure, social preferences and positive as well as negative trait attributions. Generally, the Black and Roma showed equal SSS, preferences and trait attribution for their in‐group and the high status White out‐group, but not the other low‐status out‐group. With age White children generally demonstrated higher SSS for Black and Roma, preferred them more and attributed more positive traits. For low‐status groups, an age effect was found only for Black children who preferred the Roma more with age and attributed more positive traits. Changes on preferences and trait attribution depending on age‐group were mediated by SSS. It is concluded that minority group's SSS does not parallel the objective status hierarchy but, rather, is a dynamic reorganisation of group's relative positions serving strategies to cope with their minority condition.     

A social cure in the community: A mixed-method exploration of the role of social identity in the experiences and well-being of community volunteers

Cohesive, resilient communities are vital to the well-being of residents. Uncovering the determinants of successful community identities is therefore essential to progressing the community health agenda. Engaging in community participation through volunteering may be one pathway to building local community identity and enhancing residents’ health and well-being, but the group processes connecting them remain unexplored. We conducted two studies investigating these dynamics using the “Social Cure” perspective. First, we analysed 53 in-depth interviews with volunteers, finding that community relationships shaped their experiences and that volunteering influenced their sense of community belonging, support, and well-being. Second, a community survey (N = 619) revealed that volunteering predicts well-being through the serial mediators of community identification and social support. Our article demonstrates the Social Cure processes involved in community-based volunteering, their impact on community identity, support and well-being, and their implications for community health, and the provision and sustainability of community voluntary action and interventions.     

差距知觉的泛化效应：我和你之间的差距有多大?

当知晓自己和他人的表现,即自己与他人在某方面表现上的差距已经明确时,人们对自我-他人差异的知觉准确吗?本研究发现了差距知觉的泛化效应：人们将自身的绝对表现(自己的表现与零相比的结果)泛化到对自身相对表现(自己与他人相比的结果)的判断上。在7个研究中, 被试(N = 2766)得知自己的绝对表现和相对于他人的表现,并判断自己与他人之间的差距。结果显示,绝对获益时,人们在相对获益时感知到的自我-他人差距大于相对损失时;绝对损失时,人们在相对获益时感知到的自我-他人差距小于相对损失时;当泛化难以进行时,上述效应消失。研究揭示了差距知觉的泛化效应及其联结机制。     

The existential cost of economic insecurity: Threatened financial security undercuts meaning

Financial security (i.e., a person’s sense that they can afford the things they need now and in the foreseeable future) contributes to psychological health and well-being. In the present research, we explored the implications of financial security for perceptions of meaning in life. In Study 1, we found that perceptions of financial insecurity predicted perceptions of meaning in life above and beyond income. Further, income only predicted perceptions of meaning to the extent that it was associated with reduced financial insecurity. In Studies 2 and 3, we found that financial security threats undermined perceptions of meaning in life. Taken together, these studies suggest that maintaining financial security is important for a sense of meaning in life.     

Optimistic social comparisons of older adults low in primary control: a prospective analysis of hospitalization and mortality.

Social comparison can be used strategically to bolster the self-concept. Such use may constitute secondary striving for control, when primary striving through action is unattainable. On the basis of the life span theory of control, the authors hypothesized and found that social comparison judgments would predict physical health outcomes among older adults with low primary control perceptions in the health domain. Only among such respondents, after age, sex, activities of daily living, chronic conditions, and prior hospitalization were adjusted for, did more positive social comparison judgments predict significantly lower odds of hospitalization and death over the next 2--6 years as reported in provincial health records. In later life, optimistic social comparisons may contribute to better health by providing secondary control.     

Time judgments in global temporal contexts

With three experiments, we examined the effects of global temporal context on time judgments as gauged by constant errors (CEs) and estimates of a preferred period (P). In Experiment 1, participants in seven different conditions listened to sequences of a given rate (with interonset intervals ranging from 200 to 800 msec) and judged the relative duration of a final (comparison) time interval. No P emerged. In Experiments 2 and 3, we embedded the same rates in different global (session) contexts that varied according to (1) mean session rate, (2) standard deviation, (3) range, and (4) number of different rates in a session. Evidence from CEs indicated that P varied primarily as a function of mean session rate and range of tempi. The best predictor of errors involved a measure termed relative range (RR = range/mean session rate). A general algorithm incorporating RR successfully predicts P, and the implications of this algorithm are discussed.     

Comparative risk and perceived control: implications for psychological and physical well-being among older adults

As older adults become more susceptible to certain health crises, their preoccupation with their risk of suffering such events increases. Understanding the implications of risk perceptions is critical because they may have consequences for psychological and physical well-being in later life. In the present study of older adults living in the community, the authors examined participants' comparative risk estimates (CREs)--their perceptions of their own risk relative to a similar other's risk--of suffering a hip fracture. Using multiple regression analyses, the authors examined the role of CREs on psychological well-being (negative emotions, life satisfaction) and self-rated physical well-being (general physical health, recent physical health). The authors expected perceived control (PC) to moderate the relationship between CREs and well-being. The predicted interaction did occur: Among individuals with high PC, comparative optimism (perceiving a comparatively low risk) was associated with better psychological well-being (fewer negative emotions and greater life satisfaction) and better physical well-being (general and recent physical health) relative to comparative pessimism (perceiving a comparatively high risk). Among individuals with low PC, there were no differences in well-being between comparative optimists and comparative pessimists. These findings suggest that the protective effect of comparative optimism on well-being is limited to older adults who have a strong sense of control.     

Organizational performance referents: An empirical examination of their content and influences

Although the mechanisms by which individuals make judgments about personal success have been studied extensively, theoretical and empirical development of performance referents in organizations has been sparse. To address this shortfall, we utilized a two-study design to explore performance referents used by CEOs along with characteristics influencing referent orientation (internal vs. external). Referent use was identified through content analysis of 119 CEO annual shareholder letters in the restaurant industry. Results suggest that CEOs use a wide variety of primarily internal referents to assess performance. CEOs who integrate external referents into their performance sensemaking efforts tend to be from larger and more highly performing organizations. Post hoc analysis revealed that CEOs of larger and younger organizations used a higher percentage of external referents.