scholarly journals Wage Differences Matter: An Experiment of Social Comparison and Effort Provision when Wages Increase or Decrease

Games ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Jose Rojas-Fallas ◽  
J. Forrest Williams
Keyword(s):  
Social Comparison ◽  
Gift Exchange ◽  
Efficiency Wages ◽  
Wage Differences ◽  
Wage Rates ◽  
Effort Provision ◽  
Primary Variable ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Piece Rates ◽  
High Effort

Wage rates, efficiency wages, and gift exchange in a labor market are all crucial aspects in regard to designing contracts to ensure high effort from workers. We extend this literature by discussing the relationship between known differences in wages (social comparison) and workers’ effort provision. We conduct an experiment in which subjects perform effort tasks for piece-rates. All subjects are paid the same wage rate in the first half of the experiment, but in the second half are paid different wage rates; the primary variable we study is the information about others’ wage rates given to a subset of subjects. We find that subjects’ efforts respond strongly to information about others’ wages. Such findings have implications for contract structuring for workers.

Social comparison orientation and mental health: The mediating role of psychological capital

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoliang Yang ◽  
Zhihua Wang ◽  
Weijiong Wu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Comparison ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Comparison Orientation ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Little is known about the relationship between social comparison orientation and mental health, especially in the psychological capital context. We proposed a theoretical model to examine the impact of ability- and opinion-based social comparison orientation on mental health using data from 304 undergraduates. We also examined the mediating effect of the four psychological capital components of hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism in the relationship between social comparison orientation and mental health. Results show that an ability (vs. opinion) social comparison orientation was negatively (vs. positively) related to the psychological capital components. Further, the resilience and optimism components of psychological capital fully mediated the social comparison orientation–mental health relationship. Our findings indicate that psychological capital should be considered in the promotion of mental health, and that the two social comparison orientation types have opposite effects on psychological capital.

The causal relationship between envy and depression: A cross-lagged regression analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (12) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Xinsheng Jiang ◽  
Jinyu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Social Comparison ◽  
Causal Relationship ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Gender Effect ◽  
Comparison Theory ◽  
Treatment Of Depression ◽  
Nonclinical Sample ◽  
Upward Social Comparison ◽  
The Relationship

The causal relationship between envy and depression is currently far from clear. We conducted a cross-lagged regression analysis of data on envy and depression, obtained from a nonclinical sample of 260 undergraduate students at two time points spaced 14 months apart. From the perspective of social comparison theory, the results show that although after 14 months envy positively predicted depression, depression did not predict envy. The envy–depression relationship is, thus, a unidirectional causality. In addition, there was no overall gender effect on the relationship between envy and depression. Our finding of the effect of upward social comparison on the envy–depression relationship provides guidance for the treatment of depression in clinical practice.

scholarly journals Fraud in highly appreciated fish detected from DNA in Europe may undermine the Development Goal of sustainable fishing in Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Blanco-Fernandez ◽  
Alba Ardura ◽  
Paula Masiá ◽  
Noemi Rodriguez ◽  
Laura Voces ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
Pcr Amplification ◽  
Molecular Tools ◽  
Food Authenticity ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Fish Samples ◽  
Sustainable Seafood ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Unregulated Fishing ◽  
High Effort

AbstractDespite high effort for food traceability to ensure safe and sustainable consumption, mislabeling persists on seafood markets. Determining what drives deliberate fraud is necessary to improve food authenticity and sustainability. In this study, the relationship between consumer’s appreciation and fraudulent mislabeling was assessed through a combination of a survey on consumer’s preferences (N = 1608) and molecular tools applied to fish samples commercialized by European companies. We analyzed 401 samples of fish highly consumed in Europe and worldwide (i.e. tuna, hake, anchovy, and blue whiting) through PCR-amplification and sequencing of a suite of DNA markers. Results revealed low mislabeling rate (1.9%), with a higher mislabeling risk in non-recognizable products and significant mediation of fish price between consumer´s appreciation and mislabeling risk of a species. Furthermore, the use of endangered species (e.g. Thunnus thynnus), tuna juveniles for anchovy, and still not regulated Merluccius polli hake as substitutes, points towards illegal, unreported and/or unregulated fishing from African waters. These findings reveal a worrying intentional fraud that hampers the goal of sustainable seafood production and consumption, and suggest to prioritize control efforts on highly appreciated species.

The Dynamic Relationship between FDI and Wages: Evidence from the People's Republic of China

2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-42
Author(s):  
Bala Ramasamy ◽  
Matthew Yeung
Keyword(s):  
Granger Causality ◽  
Unequal Distribution ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Distribution Of Wealth ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Cheap Labour ◽  
Wage Rates ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Unequal Distribution Of Wealth ◽  
The Relationship

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the relationship between FDI and wage rates using the wellestablished Granger causality method but with a panel data setting. The paper considers the dynamic relationship between these two variables for 27 provinces over the 1985 – 2000 period. We also distinguish between the coastal and inland provinces. Results indicate that Granger causality runs from FDI to wages for the coastal provinces but no significant relationships are found for the inland provinces. These results imply that FDI is a contributing factor for increasing wage rates in China. In particular, our findings show that the “cheap labour” hypothesis does not apply for China. It further indicates that increasing inflow of FDI into the coastal provinces relative to the inland provinces exacerbate the unequal distribution of wealth between the regions.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Output and Unemployment with Efficiency Wages

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 561-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Malley ◽  
Hassan Molana
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Efficiency Wages ◽  
Market Imperfections ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Demand Shock ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
German Data ◽  
Stabilisation Policies

Abstract We construct a stylised model of the supply side with goods and labour market imperfections to show that an economy can rationally operate at a low-effort state in which the relationship between output and unemployment is positive. We examine data from the G7 countries over 1960-2001 and find that only German data strongly favour a persistent negative relationship between the level of output and rate of unemployment. The consequence of this is that circumstances exist in which market imperfections could pose serious obstacles to the smooth working of expansionary and/or stabilisation policies and a positive demand shock might have adverse effects on employment.

Unraveling the links between active and passive social media usage and seniors' loneliness: a field study in aging care communities

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shufang Yang ◽  
Lin Huang ◽  
Yanli Zhang ◽  
Pengzhu Zhang ◽  
Yuxiang Chris Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Field Study ◽  
Social Comparison ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe literature reports inconsistent findings about the effects of social media usage (SMU). Researchers distinguish between active and passive social media usage (ASMU and PSMU), which can generate different effects on users by social support and social comparison mechanisms, respectively. Drawing on social presence theory (SPT), this study integrates an implicit social presence mechanism with the above two mechanisms to explicate the links between SMU and seniors' loneliness.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a field study by interviewing seniors living in eight aging care communities in China. Loneliness, social media activities and experiences with social media in terms of online social support (OSS), upward social comparison (USC) and social presence (SP) were assessed. Factor-based structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.FindingsOSS can mediate the relationship between ASMU and seniors' loneliness. Moreover, SP mediates between ASMU, PSMU, and seniors' loneliness, and between OSS, USC and seniors' loneliness. OSS mediates the relationship between ASMU and SP, and USC mediates the relationship between PSMU and SP.Practical implicationsThis study shows that social media can alleviate seniors' loneliness, which could help relieve the pressures faced by health and social care systems. Social presence features are suggested to help older users interact with social health technologies in socially meaningful ways.Originality/valueThis study not only demonstrates that SP can play a crucial role in the relationship between both ASMU and PSMU and loneliness, but also unravels the links between SP and OSS, as well as USC.

scholarly journals Investigation of persuasive system design predictors of competitive behavior in fitness application: A mixed-method approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 205520761987860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiemute Oyibo ◽  
Julita Vassileva
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Behavior Change ◽  
System Design ◽  
Social Comparison ◽  
Physical Inactivity ◽  
Persuasive Strategies ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Method Approach ◽  
Fitness Application

Fitness applications aimed at behavior change are becoming increasingly popular due to the global prevalence of sedentary lifestyles and physical inactivity, causing countless non-communicable diseases. Competition is one of the most common persuasive strategies employed in such applications to motivate users to engage in physical activity in a social context. However, there is limited research on the persuasive system design predictors of users’ susceptibility to competition as a persuasive strategy for motivating behavior change in a social context. To bridge this gap, we designed storyboards illustrating four of the commonly employed persuasive strategies (reward, social learning, social comparison, and competition) in fitness applications and asked potential users to evaluate their perceived persuasiveness. The result of our path analysis showed that, overall, users’ susceptibilities to social comparison (βT = 0.48, p < 0.001), reward (βT = 0.42, p < 0.001), and social learning (βT = 0.29, p < 0.01) predicted their susceptibility to competition, with our model accounting for 41% of its variance. Social comparison partially mediated the relationship between reward and competition, while social learning partially mediated the relationship between social comparison and competition. Comparatively, the relationship between reward and social learning was stronger for females than for males, whereas the relationship between reward and competition was stronger for males than for females. Overall, our findings underscore the compatibility of all four persuasive strategies in a one-size-fits-all fitness application. We discuss our findings, drawing insight from the comments provided by participants.

The relationship between affective response to social comparison and academic performance in high school

2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 203-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maike J.P.W. Wehrens ◽  
Abraham P. Buunk ◽  
Miranda J. Lubbers ◽  
Pieternel Dijkstra ◽  
Hans Kuyper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Social Comparison ◽  
Affective Response ◽  
The Relationship
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