Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 13, 2025

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
Published on: August 25, 2023
The effect of chronic regulatory focus and social comparison on undergraduates' intertemporal choices under gain-loss
Dan Liu1,2, Yuan Zhang1, Xiaowei Geng3
1School of Educational Science, Ludong University, Yantai, China.
Abstract:
Intertemporal choice refers to decisions involving tradeoffs among costs and benefits occurred at different times. To investigate whether college students' intertemporal decision making under the gain and loss frames is affected by their chronic regulatory focus. Currently, experiment 1 investigated the influence of college students' chronic regulatory focus on intertemporal decision making under the gain and loss frames, and experiment 2 further explored the moderating effect of social comparison (i.e., upward or downward social comparison) during this process. The results showed that intertemporal choices of participants with promotive focus was no significant difference between the gain frame and loss frame, while college students with preventive focus chose later and larger rewards more in loss frame than in gain frame. Social comparison moderated the effects of the chronic regulatory focus on college students' intertemporal choice in gain and loss frames. The upward comparison enhanced the influence of regulatory focus on intertemporal choice in the gain and loss frames, while the downward comparison weakened it.
Related Concept Videos
Framing Effects
Self-Discrepancy Theory
Social Exchange Theory
Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
Cognitive Dissonance
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison

