Citation

Fox CR, Kahneman D. Soc. Indicators Res. 1992; 27(3): 221-234.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

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Abstract

Satisfaction with fife domains is more highly correlated with interpersonal than with intrapersonal comparisons (Emmons and Diener, 1985). The hypothesis of the present studies is that the high correlations reflect inferences of social comparison from global satisfaction. Paradoxically, such inferences are most likely in private domains (love life, friends), where social information is scarce and relatively unimportant as a determinant of satisfaction. Study I replicates the Emmons-Diener findings, but also finds that subjects judge recent changes more important than social standing as a determinant of life satisfaction, especially in private domains. Study II examines an order effect in judgments of satisfaction. As hypothesized the correlation between social comparison and global satisfaction is higher (in private domains only) when global satisfaction is judged first than when the order of judgment is reversed.

Language: en