Extending Evidence for Inter-Individual Differences in Social Comparison Orientation to Pay Fairness Evaluations
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13670915 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kimberly K Merriman (0000-0003-3175-1141, University of Massachusetts Lowell, corresponding author), Atthaphon Mumi (0000-0001-7799-8436, Mahasarakham Business School, Mahasarakham University, Maha Sarakham, Thailand), Lauren A Turner (0000-0002-7314-2179, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, USA) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 123 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 1335-1354 |
| Publication date | 2019-05-19 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychological Reports (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0033-2941 • E-ISSN: 1558-691X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0033294119849018 |
| PMID | 31104592 |
| OpenAlex | W2946112218 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 26 |
This research extends the limited support for social comparison tendencies as an individual difference variable and a key moderator of pay fairness perceptions. Through three studies comprised of five data collections, the following adapts a measure of social comparison orientation to pay contexts and examines its association with heightened perceptions of distributive fairness in hypothetical and actual scenarios of pay equity, over-reward, and under-reward. In keeping with Gibbons and Buunk's construal, our targeted operationalization of social comparison orientation demonstrated inter-individual variation and intra-individual stability, providing corroboration of distinct individual predispositions towards social comparison. Our experimental findings further support this point in that socially relative pay information had a stronger impact on pay fairness evaluations among individuals predisposed to socially compare and a relatively weak impact on those that were not. This investigation is complementary but distinct from the prevalent focus on situational factors as drivers of social comparison. Further, examining this point in the context of pay is timely based on the recent level of public and managerial attention given to the fairness of relative pay differences
Moderation · Operationalization · Perception · Political science · Situational ethics · Social comparison theory · Social dominance orientation · Cultural Differences and Values · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology
Organizational Justice and Human Resource Management
Social comparison processes in organizations
A model of egoistical relative deprivation.
The Psychology of Competition
Comparison processes in social judgment
An examination of referents used in the evaluation of pay
The Predictive Validity of Multiple-Item versus Single-Item Measures of the Same Constructs
Rethinking Equity Theory
Beyond déjà vu in the search for cross-situational consistency.
Organizational Justice
Development and Validation of a Work Domain Goal Orientation Instrument
Inequity In Social Exchange
A test and refinement of the equity sensitivity construct
Self-activation increases social comparison
Social comparison after success and failure
A Theory of Social Comparison Processes
Individual differences in social comparison
Towards an understanding of inequity
Individual Differences in Social Comparison and its Consequences for Life Satisfaction
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |