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The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
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Outcome Evaluation in Social Comparison: When You Deviate from Others.

Shinan Sun1,2, Yang Wang1,2, Xuejun Bai1,2

  • 1Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China.

Brain Sciences
|June 28, 2023
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Summary

Social comparison outcome evaluation is influenced by the degree of difference between oneself and others. This effect is significant for positive outcomes but not for negative ones, suggesting different processing for wins versus losses.

Keywords:
FRNP300deviation degreeelectroencephalogram (EEG)event-related potential (ERP)outcome evaluationsocial comparison

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Social Psychology

Background:

  • Individuals frequently evaluate their performance by comparing themselves to others.
  • The impact of varying degrees of social comparison on self-ability evaluation remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how the degree of deviation between self and others influences outcome evaluation in social comparison.
  • To examine the neural correlates of processing social comparison outcomes using event-related potentials (ERPs).

Main Methods:

  • A within-participant design was employed with two self-outcomes and three others' outcomes.
  • Participants completed a dot estimation task involving social comparison with two confederates.
  • Event-related potentials (ERPs), specifically feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P300, were recorded.

Main Results:

  • Positive outcomes showed a significant gradient change in FRN and P300 amplitudes with increasing deviation from others.
  • Negative outcomes did not exhibit a similar progressive effect across different deviation degrees.
  • The findings indicate that outcome valence (positive vs. negative) modulates the processing of social comparison deviation.

Conclusions:

  • The degree of social comparison significantly impacts cognitive processing of outcomes, particularly when individuals achieve positive results.
  • This suggests a potential role in developing empathic responses during positive social comparisons.
  • Conversely, individuals may disengage from deeper social comparison when facing negative outcomes to protect self-esteem.