School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Australia; School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Australia.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2023 Oct;192:72-79. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2023.08.007. Epub 2023 Aug 19.
Social comparison theory states that comparison with others should influence an individual's behavior (Festinger, 1954; Munkes & Diehl, 2003). This is primarily due to an upward pressure: the pressure to be better than others, which according to some theories should motivate individuals to increase their level of performance (Munkes & Diehl, 2003; Rijsman, 1974). The effect of upward pressure on individual performance has been tested, but never on effort. To address this gap, we conducted a within-subject design study with N = 40 participants engaged in five-minute video games while presented with scores of a similar, slightly better, or weaker peer, with a control condition omitting the peer's score. Effort-related cardiovascular responses were recorded with initial systolic time interval (ISTI) during the game and baseline conditions. The effect of social comparison on effort was tested with a 4 (social comparison) x 5 (minutes of the tasks) repeated-measures ANOVA on ISTI reactivity. Results showed higher ISTI reactivity, interpreted as increased effort, when participants competed with similar and slightly better peers compared to a weaker peer and the control condition in the last minute of the task, confirming our expectations (Pegna et al., 2019). These results illustrate that social comparison - through its effect on upward pressure - is sufficient to elicit changes in effort-related cardiovascular response.
社会比较理论指出，与他人的比较应该会影响个体的行为（Festinger，1954；Munkes & Diehl，2003）。这主要是由于一种向上的压力：即比他人更好的压力，根据一些理论，这种压力应该激励个体提高他们的表现水平（Munkes & Diehl，2003；Rijsman，1974）。向上的压力对个体表现的影响已经得到了检验，但从未检验过对努力的影响。为了弥补这一空白，我们进行了一项被试内设计研究，共有 40 名参与者参与了五分钟的视频游戏，同时呈现了与自己相似、略好或稍差的同龄人的分数，还有一个不呈现同龄人分数的对照条件。在游戏和基线条件下，通过初始收缩时间间隔（ISTI）记录与努力相关的心血管反应。我们使用 ISTI 反应的 4（社会比较）x 5（任务分钟）重复测量方差分析来检验社会比较对努力的影响。结果显示，当参与者在任务的最后一分钟与相似和略好的同龄人竞争，而不是与较弱的同龄人竞争和对照条件竞争时，ISTI 反应性更高，这被解释为努力增加，这符合我们的预期（Pegna 等人，2019）。这些结果表明，社会比较——通过其对向上压力的影响——足以引起与努力相关的心血管反应的变化。
