Gibbons Frederick X
Iowa State U, Ames.
J Pers Soc Psychol. 1986 Jul;51(1):140-148. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.51.1.140.
In this article, two studies examine the social comparison processes of depressed and nondepressed college students. In the first study, subjects' preferences for information from others were assessed after they had received a manipulation intended to improve or worsen their mood states. The responses of the depressed subjects provided evidence of downward comparison, as they indicated a preference for information from people who were experiencing negative affect--but only when they themselves were also experiencing relatively negative affect, and not when their moods had been temporarily improved. In the second study, subjects' moods were assessed before and after they had received information indicating another person was currently experiencing very negative affect. This information had little effect on the nondepressed subjects, however, the mood states of the depressed persons improved after they read the information. In general, the results indicate that realizing that others are doing worse may help depressed persons to feel somewhat better.
在本文中，两项研究考察了抑郁和非抑郁大学生的社会比较过程。在第一项研究中，在受试者接受旨在改善或恶化其情绪状态的操纵之后，评估他们对他人信息的偏好。抑郁受试者的反应提供了向下比较的证据，因为他们表示更喜欢从经历负面情绪的人那里获取信息——但前提是他们自己也处于相对负面的情绪中，而当他们的情绪暂时改善时则不然。在第二项研究中，在受试者收到表明另一个人目前正经历非常负面情绪的信息之前和之后，评估他们的情绪。然而，这些信息对非抑郁受试者几乎没有影响，而抑郁者在阅读信息后情绪状态有所改善。总体而言，结果表明意识到他人情况更糟可能会帮助抑郁者感觉稍微好一些。
