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Relative state, social comparison reactions, and the behavioral constellation of deprivation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2017

Dallas Novakowski
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Regina, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada. [email protected]
Sandeep Mishra
Affiliation:
Faculty of Business Administration, University of Regina, Regina, SK S4S 0A2, Canada. [email protected]

Abstract

Pepper & Nettle compellingly synthesize evidence indicating that temporal discounting is a functional, adaptive response to deprivation. In this commentary, we underscore the importance of the psychology of relative state, which is an index of relative competitive (dis)advantage. We then highlight two proximate emotional social comparison reactions linked with relative state – personal relative deprivation and envy – that may play an important role in the deprivation-discounting link.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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