High Social Comparison Orientation Research Articles

How social media sharing drives consumption intention: the role of social media envy and social comparison orientation

BackgroundSocial media benign envy, an upward comparison-based and painful emotions associated with the motivation to improve oneself, has attracted increasing attention from researchers due to its ubiquitous and significant impact on social network users’ intentions and behavior. However, the results of previous studies on whether material or experiential consumption is more likely to cause social media envy (treated as a single construct) have been inconsistent, and there is a lack of research on what triggers social media users to experience more intense benign envy and thus inspiring their consumption intentions. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the type and luxuriousness of shared consumption and viewer’s social comparison orientation jointly affect social media users’ consumption intentions through benign envy.MethodsA 2 (type of consumption sharing: experiential vs. material) × 2 (luxuriousness of consumption sharing: luxury vs. non-luxury) × 2 (social comparison orientation: high vs. low) mixed-design experiment was conducted to test theoretical model with data from 544 undergraduates in China. SPSS 26.0 and the Process macro were used to test the model.ResultsThe results revealed that luxury experiential consumption information shared on social media triggered more benign envy compared with other types of shared consumption information. When social media users shared non-luxury consumption, experiential consumption was more likely to inspire benign envy among users with high social comparison orientation than material consumption. However, when luxury consumption was shared, benign envy acted as a mediator between purchase type and participants’ purchase intention regardless of whether participants’ social comparison orientation was high or low.ConclusionThis study revealed that whether and how social comparison orientation of social media users who read the shared content influences the mechanism by which the type of consumption sharing on social media affects social media users’ consumption intentions through benign envy as a mediator is dependent on the luxuriousness of the shared consumption. The findings not only provide new insights for researchers to better understand social media envy and the underlying psychological mechanism for social media readers’ consumption intention, but also have practical implications for practitioners.

How, when, and why high job performance is not always good: A three‐way interaction model

SummaryDespite organizations encouraging employees to improve their job performance to enhance organizational performance, the understanding of the consequences of high performance from the perspective of social comparison remains limited. Drawing on social comparison theory, we develop a framework explaining how upward performance social comparison leads to political behaviors through anxiety. Furthermore, we examine the amplifying effect of social comparison orientation (SCO) on the relationship between upward performance social comparison and anxiety. We introduce the downward leader–member exchange social comparison (downward leader–member exchange social comparison [LMXSC]) to buffer the magnifying effect of SCO. We test the three‐way interaction among upward performance social comparison, SCO, and downward LMXSC using the data collected from a three‐wave survey (Study 1) and a scenario‐based experiment (Study 2), and our hypotheses are supported. Our results reveal an interesting dilemma. Employees' high performance is naturally beneficial for organizations, but those with high SCO and fewer advantages in leader–member exchange social comparison may feel more anxious and engage in political behaviors in response to upward performance social comparison. Our research has practical implications, such as monitoring social comparisons and political behaviors in the workplace and helping employees reduce anxiety.

It's a comparison game! The roles of social comparison, perceived exclusivity and perceived financial benefits in non-fungible token marketing

PurposeNon-fungible tokens (NFTs) are gaining popularity as investments and personal indulgences, prompting brands to integrate them into marketing campaigns. Thus, understanding consumer personality traits toward NFTs is essential for success. This study presents a model that explores how social comparison orientation (SCO) influences perceived exclusivity and financial benefits of NFT marketing, subsequently impacting experiential evaluations, willingness to purchase NFTs and brand loyalty.Design/methodology/approachWe conducted two experiments to test our model. Study 1 used a quasi-experiment with 1,053 participants and tested the model using partial least squares–based structural equation modeling. In Study 2, we aimed to investigate the causal influence of SCO on NFT marketing effectiveness. We employed a one-factor experiment (social comparison prime: high SCO vs. control) with 123 participants.FindingsNFT users frequently engage in social comparisons and prefer branded NFTs that offer exclusivity (social value) and financial benefits (economic value). Social and financial superiority derived from NFTs enhances branded NFT experiences, leading to a stronger willingness to purchase NFTs and building brand loyalty. Perceived exclusivity, financial benefits and experiential evaluation mediate the effects of SCO on willingness to purchase NFTs and brand loyalty.Originality/valueThis study explores the effectiveness of NFT marketing through the lens of social comparison theory. In doing so, we examined the relationship between SCO and NFT marketing outcomes, revealed the causal influence of SCO on perceived exclusivity and perceived benefits in NFT marketing and shed light on the serial mediation of value- and experience-related constructs.

An influencer like me: Examining the impact of the social status of Influencers

ABSTRACT Despite the rise of social media influencers with ordinary, approachable lifestyles, there is a lack of studies that investigate the mechanism. This study examines the impacts of the social status of influencers on marketing outcomes. Study 1 investigated how intimacy and admiration resulting from the social status of influencers (similar vs. higher) affect marketing outcomes (i.e., product attitude, willingness to purchase, and loyalty to the influencer) using an online survey. The results showed that admiration is a stronger predictor of marketing outcomes than intimacy regardless of the influencers’ social status. This study also demonstrated the interplay between the social status of influencers and the social comparison orientation of social media users in a 2 (similar vs. higher social status) x 2 (low vs. high social comparison orientation) experimental design. This research contributes to knowledge by examining the effects of the social status of influencers (similar vs. higher) based on the social comparison process. This study provides theoretical and practical implications that admiration is a key factor in influencer marketing and social media users with high social comparison orientation should be targeted.

Two in Distress Make Sorrow less: A Work-Life Conflict Moderated Mediation Model

Drawing on the Job Demand-Resource model this paper examines the influence of the social comparison orientation personality trait. It is hypothesized that high social comparison orientation will moderate the negative effect of job demands in the health impairment process on work engagement, mediated by a work-nonwork conflict. A total of 510 nurses from different healthcare centres participated in this study. PROCESS macro was used to test simple and moderated mediation. Results demonstrate that the negative indirect effect of job demands on work engagement via work-non work conflict appears only with low levels of social comparison orientation. Theoretical insights from social comparison literature and the work-nonwork interface into JD-R theory are integrated. The strengths of social comparison orientation employees are highlighted to reduce the depletion of resources needed to cope with non-work demands and promote work engagement.

Instagram Use, InstaMums, and Anxiety in Mothers of Young Children

Abstract. The emergence of social media has revolutionized communication and has had a profound effect on many aspects of motherhood. Image-centric social media, despite its overwhelming popularity, has faced much criticism for over-idealistic portrayals and the pressures it may place on women throughout pregnancy and the early years of their child’s life. This research aimed to determine whether a significant relationship exists between postnatal anxiety and Instagram usage in mothers with young children. The associational, cross-sectional design uses a sample of 210 mothers, aged 22–45, who have one or more children aged under 5 years. An online questionnaire measured anxiety, Instagram usage, and several potentially moderating traits. We found that the relationship between anxiety and online engagement with InstaMums – mothers made famous by Instagram – was moderated by both social comparison orientation and self-esteem. Engagement with InstaMums was associated with greater anxiety in those with higher social comparison orientation; it was also associated with greater anxiety in those with lower self-esteem. These findings are discussed in connection with social comparison theory, implications for healthy social media use, as well as avenues for future research.

Intrinsic Functional and Structural Brain Connectivity in Humans Predicts Individual Social Comparison Orientation

Social comparison orientation (SCO), the tendency to compare oneself with others, is universal, varies widely across individuals, and predicts important life and health outcomes. However, the neural mechanism underlying individual differences in SCO is still not well-understood. In the present study, we identified intrinsic neural markers of SCO in healthy young adults (n = 42) using a multimodal neuroimaging approach that included diffusion tensor imaging and resting-state functional MRI data. We found that higher SCO was associated with weaker structural and functional connectivity (SC, FC) strengths between the ventral striatum and the medial prefrontal cortex, which are core regions of the brain reward network. Additionally, individual SCO was negatively associated with neural fluctuations in the intraparietal sulcus (IPS), part of the frontoparietal network, and positively with FC between the IPS and anterior insula/amygdala cluster. This finding was further confirmed by the observation of independently-defined, large-scale, inter-network FC between the frontoparietal network and cingulo-opercular network. Taken together, these results provide novel evidence for intrinsic functional and structural connectivity of the human brain associated with individual differences in SCO.

How we use Facebook to achieve our goals: a priming study regarding emotion regulation, social comparison orientation, and unaccomplished goals

On the basis of recent findings in the context of the Social Online Self-Regulation Theory it is assumed that intensity of social Facebook use (i.e., a higher intensity and more time spend on Facebook focusing on social activities) serves the purpose of self-regulation. A priming of unfulfilled goals was used to increase participants’ intensity of social Facebook use in order to regulate the negative emotions and the self-discrepancy which should be caused by the priming. High social comparison orientation as well as difficulties in emotion regulation were assumed to moderate that effect. 355 people took part in an online survey. As expected, difficulties in emotion regulation as well as social comparison orientation were positively correlated with intensity of social Facebook use. However, the priming effect was moderated by difficulties in emotion regulation. Our research follows propositions derived from self-regulation theory and is, therefore, integrated into a broader theoretical approach focusing on the goal-setting of the self. Finally, possible applications of this research on the explanation of dysfunctional social Facebook use are outlined.

Supervisory Abuse of High Performers: A Social Comparison Perspective

Prior research linking employee performance to abusive supervision suggests that supervisors have instrumental and non‐instrumental reasons for engaging in abuse while dealing with low performers in the workplace. Drawing on social comparison theory, we argue that high‐performing subordinates can make supervisors envious, which in turn leads to abusive supervisory behavior. Furthermore, we hypothesize supervisor social comparison orientation as a key boundary condition for the indirect positive effect of subordinate performance on abusive supervision through supervisor envy; that is, supervisors are more likely to abuse high performers when the supervisors’ social comparison orientation is high. A multi‐source, multi‐wave field study was conducted with data collected from supervisor‐subordinate dyads (N = 95 supervisors and 385 subordinates). The data supported a positive indirect effect of employee performance on abusive supervision through supervisor envy. Moreover, the indirect effect was statistically significant for supervisors with high social comparison orientation but it was not significant for supervisors with low social comparison orientation. Implications of these findings for reducing abusive supervision are discussed.

Psychosocial well-being and social media engagement: The mediating roles of social comparison orientation and fear of missing out

Based on a large representative sample of German Internet users aged 14–39 years, the current survey study investigates how three indicators of decreases in well-being (loneliness, anxiety, and depression) are connected to social media engagement (SME). To provide a deeper understanding of this relationship, not only direct links are inspected, but fear of missing out (FoMO) and social comparison orientation (SCO) are considered as possible mediators. The results show that loneliness, depression, and anxiety are positively related to increases in SME. FoMO and SCO jointly mediate the connection between well-being and SME, that is, decreases in well-being are connected with increases in FoMO and SCO, which in turn positively predict SME. Furthermore, SCO and FoMO are found to be positively related to each other, suggesting that those with a high SCO might form a particular at-risk group for the development of FoMO.

The psychological costs of comparisons: Parents' social comparison moderates the links between family management of epilepsy and children's outcomes

Parents play a key role in how children deal with epilepsy. When diagnosed with health conditions, people seek comparison information from fellow patients and families, and this information has consequences for how they evaluate their situation. This study examined the moderating role of parents' social comparison orientation in the associations between family management (parental perceptions of family life difficulties and child's daily life) and adaptation outcomes of children with epilepsy (HRQoL and perceived stigma). Participants included 201 dyads of children with epilepsy and either their mother or father. The results showed that when parents perceived higher difficulties managing their child's epilepsy and/or reported that their child was more affected by this condition, children reported higher perceived stigma and worse HRQoL only when parents had a higher social comparison orientation. Our results are innovative in showing that when parents have a higher social comparison orientation, their children may be at increased risk of poorer outcomes.

Do Victims of Supervisor Bullying Suffer from Poor Creativity? Social Cognitive and Social Comparison Perspectives

This study explores the dark side of leadership, treats creative self-efficacy as a mediator, and frames supervisor bullying and employee creativity in the context of social cognition and social comparison. We theorize that with a high social comparison orientation, the combination of high supervisory abuse toward themselves (own abusive supervision) and low supervisory abuse toward other team members (peer abusive supervision) leads to a double whammy effect: When employees are “singled out” for abuse, these victims suffer from not only low creative self-efficacy due to supervisory abuse but also low supervisory creativity ratings. Results based on our two-wave data collected from multiple sources—253 employees and their 77 immediate supervisors—support our theory. The significant three-way interaction effect reveals that when social comparison orientation is high and peer abusive supervision is low (Time 1), own abusive supervision (Time 1) creates the strongest negative impact on creative self-efficacy (Time 2), which is significantly related to supervisory low creativity rating (Time 2). Our discoveries of egregious bullying offer provocative theoretical, empirical, and practical implications to the fields of leadership, abusive supervision, creativity, and business ethics.

Learners' habitual social comparisons can hinder effective learning partner choice

Students' achievement heavily depends on who they learn with and from in school. We investigate how the habitual tendency to compare and strategic social comparison motivation influence who students seek to learn with. Specifically, we propose that a predisposition to habitual social comparison (i.e., high Social Comparison Orientation) overrides learners' strategic social comparison motivation. In two studies, we measured students' Social Comparison Orientation and strategic social comparison motivation in the context of a coming cooperative learning task. We then assessed the influence of habitual tendencies and strategic social comparison motivation on students' choice of learning partner for an upcoming learning task. Across both studies, we found that only participants who were not predisposed to habitual social comparison benefited from strategic social comparison motivation. This finding joins a growing body of work documenting the importance and impact of habitual social comparison in the context of knowledge exchange between peers.

社交网站被动使用在社会比较倾向和嫉妒之间的中介作用

社交网站已经成为生活中不可缺少的一部分，越来越多的研究开始考虑社交网站与人们心理健康的关系。以往的研究者已经得出被动使用社交网站会带来一系列不好的影响，比如，降低生活幸福感、降低自我认知、降低自尊、滋生嫉妒等等。本文主要从社交网站被动使用与嫉妒的关系着手，了解社交网站被动性使用和嫉妒的关系。另外，社交网站中充斥着大量的比较信息，社会比较倾向高的个体对这些信息更敏感更容易与他人比较，因此，将社会比较倾向也纳入研究模型。结果发现，社会比较倾向与嫉妒呈正相关，并且社交网站被动使用在这之间起到部分中介作用。 In recent years, the relationship between social networking sits and wellbeing has aroused both the public and researcher’s attention. Previous studies suggested that Passive of social network use would dampen the life satisfaction, reduce the self-perception, weaken the self-esteem, and lead to envy. Our research focuses on the envy, and we wonder that the relationship between Passive of social network use and envy. In addition, SCO is particularly important in the social media context because SNSs provide rich opportunities for social comparison, which can influence one’s psychological well-being. Specifically, people with higher Social comparison orientation are more likely to compare with others, so, we conclude the Social comparison orientation in our model. And finally we find that the relationship between Social comparison orientation and envy is partly mediated by Passive of social network use.

The Effect of Coworker Social Loafing on Employees’ Distributive Justice Perceptions

사회적 태만은 개인이 집단 속에서 일할 때 노력을 감소하는 경향을 의미하는데, 이는 조직구성원의 의욕상실과 생산성 감소에 큰 영향을 미친다. 이러한 중요성에도 불구하고, 사회적 태만에 관한 선행연구들은 동료의 사회적 태만과 분배적 공정성에 관한 조직구성원의 인식 간의 관계를 설명할 수 있는 조직구성원의 개인적 특성과 상황적 맥락의 역학관계에 대해 심도 있게 다루지 않았다. 이에 본 연구에서는 조직 공정성과 사회 비교에 관한 이론들을 바탕으로 개인의 특징과 상황이 동료의 사회적 태만과 조직구성원의 분배적 공정성 인식 간의 부정적 관계에 미치는 상호작용 효과를 제안하였다. 보다 구체적으로 살펴보면, 조직구성원이 불공정성을 느끼는 정도는 개인이 본인의 이익을 저해하는 상황에 어느 정도 예민한지, 불공정성이 자원 배분의 역할을 하는 리더의 지지에 의해 어느 정도 보상된다고 여기는지에 따라 차이가 있다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 개인의 특성으로는 사회 비교 경향성(Social Comparison Orientation: SCO)을, 상황적 요인으로는 리더-구성원 교환관계의 사회적 비교(Leader-Member Exchange Social Comparison: LMXSC)를 중심으로 살펴보았다.BR 분석 결과, SCO는 동료의 사회적 태만과 조직구성원의 분배적 공정성 인식 간의 관계를 더욱 악화시켰으며, 이러한 효과는 SCO가 높고 LMXSC가 낮을 때 가장 크게 나타났다. 이는 조직구성원이 동료와 비교하는 성향이 강하고 리더로부터 지지를 적게 받는 경우, 공정성에 대한 인식이 가장 낮다는 것을 의미한다. 본 연구는 다음과 같은 학술적이고 실무적인 시사점을 제공한다. 첫째, 조직 공정성과 사회 비교에 관한 이론들을 통합함으로써 기존의 관점을 확장하였다. 조직 공정성과 사회 비교에 관한 이론들을 바탕으로 사회적 태만과 분배적 공정성에 관한 조직구성원의 인식 간의 부정적 관계를 살펴보는데 그치지 않고, 사회적 태만, 개인의 특징, 상황 간의 역학관계를 보다 구체적으로 살펴보았다. 둘째, 개인의 특징으로 사회 비교 경향성, 상황으로 리더-구성원 교환관계의 사회적 비교를 동시에 살펴봄으로써, 조직구성원이 동료의 사회적 태만을 어떻게 인식하는지에 관해 구체적으로 제시하였다. 조직구성원의 분배적 공정성에 관한 인식을 설명하는데 개인의 특징과 상황의 결합된 효과를 살펴봄으로써, 본 연구는 현존하는 사회적 태만에 관한 선행연구들의 범위를 보다 확장하는데 기여하였다. 셋째, 동료의 사회적 태만이 조직구성원의 분배적 공정성에 미치는 부정적인 효과를 리더가 완화시킬 수 있다는 것을 실증적으로 밝힘으로써, 리더의 역할이 중요함을 확인하였다.

Social Comparison Orientation, Hardiness and Life Satisfaction in Undergraduate Students

The first aim of the present study was to examine changes on hardiness and life satisfaction in terms of social comparison orientation in Turkish undergraduate students. Secondly, the moderator effect of social comparison orientation on the relationship between hardiness and life satisfaction was investigated. The study was conducted on a total of 326 undergraduate students. The data of the study were collected through the IOWA-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure, Personal View Survey III-R, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. In the study, in order to test differences between levels of hardiness and global life satisfaction among undergraduate students at low and high social comparison orientation, Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) was used. Hierarchical multiple regression procedures were performed to test moderating effect of social comparison orientation on the relationship between hardiness and life satisfaction. The findings of the study indicated that the students having a low social comparison orientation had more hardiness and life satisfaction than the students having a high social comparison orientation. In addition, social comparison orientation did not moderate the relationship between hardiness and life satisfaction. In conclusion, this study shows that social comparison orientation has a notable role on hardiness and life satisfaction in undergraduate students.

Social Support, Social Comparison, and Career Adaptability: A Moderated Mediation Model

Our aim in this study was to identify the social factors that underpin the career adaptability of college graduates in China by examining the effects of social support and career self-efficacy on career adaptability among a sample of 879 Chinese college graduates. We also emphasized the moderating role of social comparison in influencing this relationship. The results showed that, (a) social support enhanced career adaptability, (b) career self-efficacy played a mediating role in the relationship between social support and career adaptability, and (c) social comparison orientation moderated the mediation model; specifically, a high social comparison orientation weakened the enhancing effect of social support on career self-efficacy and career adaptability. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

The relationship between affective response to social comparison and academic performance in high school

The goal of the present study was to study the relationship between affective responses to social comparison and test scores among high school students. Our analyses showed that three types of responses to social comparison could be distinguished: an empathic, constructive, and destructive response. Whereas girls scored higher on empathic response, boys scored higher on destructive response. In addition, students who had a high social comparison orientation (SCO) scored higher on all three types of responses than students who expressed a low SCO. Multilevel regression analyses indicated that, after controlling for previous performance, a destructive response was negatively related to performance on tests for reading comprehension and mathematics. An empathic response was positively related to performance on reading comprehension only whereas a constructive response compensated the negative relationship between destructive response and reading comprehension. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.