Relativistic origins of emotional reactions to events happening to others and to ourselves

Authors: Smith, Richard H.¹; Eyre, Heidi L.²; Powell, Caitlin A. J.¹; Kim, Sung Hee¹

Source: British Journal of Social Psychology, Volume 45, Number 2, June 2006 , pp. 357-371(15)

Publisher: British Psychological Society

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Abstract:

The purpose of the present study was to show that people's emotional reactions to both good and bad events happening to others can be influenced by how their own experiences compare with these events. Female undergraduate students took a test of intellectual ability and received false feedback suggesting that they had done well or poorly. Later, they viewed written feedback apparently given to another participant suggesting that she had performed well or poorly. Finally, participants gave their emotional reactions to their own performance as well as the performance of the other participant. Results showed that participants' relative performance influenced how happy they felt for the high performing other participant and how sad they felt for the low performing other participant. Participants' self-focused emotions of pride and shame were also affected by the relative performance of the other participant.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1348/014466605X40987

Affiliations: 1: University of Kentucky, USA 2: Delta State University, USA

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