Abstract
Lyubomirsky and Ross find unhappy people react more strongly to upward social comparison, while happy people show milder mood swings from the same contrasts.
Lyubomirsky, S., & Ross, L. (1997). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(6), 1141–1157. DOI
Key findings
- Comparison asymmetry — Social comparison hits mood harder when baseline happiness is low.
- Upward sting — Looking at better-off others depressed unhappy participants more than happy ones.
- Downward weak balm — Downward comparison helped less than upward hurt — asymmetry matters.
- Habit not event — Chronic comparison style shapes hedonic consequences beyond one scroll session.
Limits
Survey and experiment paradigms — correlational texture; not full causal life design.
Application
When others’ wins ruin your day — your comparison habit may matter more than the feed. See It will be better when.