Prepare to Compare: Effects of an Intervention Involving Upward and Downward Social Comparisons on Goal Pursuit in Daily Life

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Prepare to Compare: Effects of an Intervention Involving Upward and Downward Social Comparisons on Goal Pursuit in Daily Life. / Diel, Kathi; Hofmann, Wilhelm; Grelle, Sonja et al.
in: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30.01.2024.

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

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@article{d47c60f1f4f546d7805792e52dc8bfc2,
title = "Prepare to Compare: Effects of an Intervention Involving Upward and Downward Social Comparisons on Goal Pursuit in Daily Life",
abstract = "In a preregistered ecological momentary intervention study, we alternately instructed participants to adopt an upward and downward comparison focus. In all, 349 participants reported 8,137 social comparison situations across 6 days and three comparison conditions (baseline, upward, downward). For each comparison, participants reported social comparison direction, motivation, effort intentions, and emotions in five daily reports and one daily end-of-day summary. As predicted, an upward comparison focus resulted in more self-improvement motivation (pushing) and more negative emotions, whereas days with a downward comparison focus resulted in decreased motivation (coasting) but more positive emotions (vs. baseline). However, at the end of the day, people experienced lower goal approach on upward but higher goal approach on downward comparison days. Hence, engaging in strategic upward comparison was motivating in the short term but resulted in surprisingly opposite effects at the end of the day. We offer possible explanations from cognitive and motivational perspectives.",
keywords = "emotions, goals, intervention, motivation, social comparison, Psychology",
author = "Kathi Diel and Wilhelm Hofmann and Sonja Grelle and Lea Boecker and Malte Friese",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.",
year = "2024",
month = jan,
day = "30",
doi = "10.1177/01461672231219378",
language = "English",
journal = "Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin",
issn = "0146-1672",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Inc.",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Prepare to Compare

T2 - Effects of an Intervention Involving Upward and Downward Social Comparisons on Goal Pursuit in Daily Life

AU - Diel, Kathi

AU - Hofmann, Wilhelm

AU - Grelle, Sonja

AU - Boecker, Lea

AU - Friese, Malte

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

PY - 2024/1/30

Y1 - 2024/1/30

N2 - In a preregistered ecological momentary intervention study, we alternately instructed participants to adopt an upward and downward comparison focus. In all, 349 participants reported 8,137 social comparison situations across 6 days and three comparison conditions (baseline, upward, downward). For each comparison, participants reported social comparison direction, motivation, effort intentions, and emotions in five daily reports and one daily end-of-day summary. As predicted, an upward comparison focus resulted in more self-improvement motivation (pushing) and more negative emotions, whereas days with a downward comparison focus resulted in decreased motivation (coasting) but more positive emotions (vs. baseline). However, at the end of the day, people experienced lower goal approach on upward but higher goal approach on downward comparison days. Hence, engaging in strategic upward comparison was motivating in the short term but resulted in surprisingly opposite effects at the end of the day. We offer possible explanations from cognitive and motivational perspectives.

AB - In a preregistered ecological momentary intervention study, we alternately instructed participants to adopt an upward and downward comparison focus. In all, 349 participants reported 8,137 social comparison situations across 6 days and three comparison conditions (baseline, upward, downward). For each comparison, participants reported social comparison direction, motivation, effort intentions, and emotions in five daily reports and one daily end-of-day summary. As predicted, an upward comparison focus resulted in more self-improvement motivation (pushing) and more negative emotions, whereas days with a downward comparison focus resulted in decreased motivation (coasting) but more positive emotions (vs. baseline). However, at the end of the day, people experienced lower goal approach on upward but higher goal approach on downward comparison days. Hence, engaging in strategic upward comparison was motivating in the short term but resulted in surprisingly opposite effects at the end of the day. We offer possible explanations from cognitive and motivational perspectives.

KW - emotions

KW - goals

KW - intervention

KW - motivation

KW - social comparison

KW - Psychology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85183862807&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/89c27d71-62c1-33d5-a527-e10b31183f31/

U2 - 10.1177/01461672231219378

DO - 10.1177/01461672231219378

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 38288955

AN - SCOPUS:85183862807

JO - Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

JF - Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

SN - 0146-1672

ER -

DOI