Biased Social Comparison in the Moment of Crisis: The Better-Than-Average Effect and COVID-19
Kulesza W. Dolinski D. Muniak P. Winner D. Izydorczak K. Derakhshan A. Rizulla A.
January 2023Hogrefe Publishing GmbH
Social Psychology
2023#54Issue 1-240 - 51 pp.
The better-than-average effect (BTAE) is a mechanism where people perceive oneself as better than others. The BTAE could be one of the phenomena explaining why people follow - in the moment of a global health crisis - guidelines (I amsuperior to others, and I [will]) take extra precautions, e.g., a vaccine shot). In this paper, we investigate the BTAE with 3,066 respondents. In Study 1, in all countries, across two measurements in time, the BTAE was present: Participants rated their involvement in self-protection as greater in comparison to others. Study 2 replicated this effect, proving its robustness. Participants estimated their willingness to vaccinate as higher than others. The BTAE was a significant predictor of willingness to vaccinate.
better-than-average effect (BTAE) , cognitive biases , COVID-19 pandemic , crisis , social comparisons , unrealistic optimism (UO)
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Department of Psychology in Warsaw, Centre for Research on Social Relations, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland
Department of Psychology in Wroclaw, Centre for Research on Social Behavior, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Wroclaw, Poland
Deans Office, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran
Department of General and Applied Psychology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Department of Psychology in Warsaw
Department of Psychology in Wroclaw
Deans Office
Department of English Language and Literature
Department of General and Applied Psychology
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