Exploring the impact of dimensional comparisons in health contexts

Abstract

Did I exercise enough this week?" "Should I eat that last donut?" "Am I in good shape?" Due to the ambiguity and difficulty of answering such questions, people often use comparison-based information to contextualize their standing, inform self-evaluations, and guide behavior. For example, to ascertain whether they have exercised enough, people can make social comparisons to peers (e.g., "Have I exercised more than my friends?") or temporal comparisons of the present to the past (e.g., "Have I exercised more this week than last week?"). While ample research has examined the relevance and impact of social and temporal comparisons in a range of health contexts (e.g., health behaviors, risk perceptions), the overarching goal of the present review was to explicate the potential relevance and impact of a third type of comparison standard-dimensional comparisons-in health contexts (with an emphasis on health behaviors like exercise). First, we discuss how social and temporal comparisons shape self-evaluations in both health and non-health contexts. Second, we provide an overview of research conducted on dimensional comparisons in non-health contexts and discuss how comparison sources shape self-evaluations and self-concept formation. Third, we explore the potential impact and relevance of dimensional comparisons on self-evaluations in health behavior

Dimensional comparisons in the formation of faculty members’ research and teaching self-concepts?

“…In addition to examining the effects of dimensional comparisons between different school subjects, researchers have used the generalized I/E model to study dimensional comparisons in other contexts (see Wolff, 2022, for an overview). For example, the generalized I/E model has been used to examine dimensional comparison effects between the personality traits of agency and communion (Helm et al, 2017) or between engagement in vigorous exercises and abstinence from alcohol (Edmonds & Rose, 2022). Moreover, the model has been applied to higher education.…”