Asymmetric Hedonic Contrast: Pain Is More Contrast Dependent Than Pleasure

Research has shown that hedonic-contrast effects are a ubiquitous and important phenomenon. In eight studies ( N = 4,999) and four supplemental studies ( N = 1,809), we found that hedonic-contrast effects were stronger for negative outcomes than for positive outcomes. This asymmetric-contrast effect held for both anticipated and experienced affect. The effect makes risks that include gains and losses more attractive in the presence of high reference points because contrast diminishes the hedonic impact of losses more than gains. We demonstrated that the effect occurs because people are generally more attentive to reference points when evaluating negative outcomes, so drawing attention to reference points eliminates the asymmetric-contrast effect.

Hedonic Contrast Effects Are Larger When Comparisons Are Social

A hedonic contrast effect occurs when comparing a stimulus to its alternatives makes it better or worse. We find that counterfactual comparisons induce larger hedonic contrast effects when they are also social comparisons. Hedonic contrast effects influence happiness with a food or wage more when another person receives its counterfactual alternative than when no person receives its counterfactual alternative. Social attention, the propensity to attend to the experiences of other people, underlies the larger hedonic contrast effects induced by social comparisons. People pay more attention to counterfactual alternatives when they are also social comparison standards, and this difference in the allocation of attention mediates the larger hedonic contrast effects that social counterfactual comparisons induce. Reducing attentional resources with cognitive load or time pressure reduces the impact of social counterfactual comparisons, and drawing attention to nonsocial counterfactual comparisons increases their impact. Social attention makes comparisons stronger when they are social.

The Influence of Olfactory Contexts on the Sequential Rating of Odor Pleasantness

When we sequentially evaluate the characteristics of sensory stimuli, our evaluation of a current stimulus is influenced by those preceding it. One such effect is called hedonic contrast, whereby stimuli are rated more negatively (negative contrast) or positively (positive contrast) if they are preceded by more or less pleasant stimuli. The present study investigated the characteristics of hedonic contrast for olfaction and compared these characteristics with those of a more oft-studied modality, vision. The results from two experiments indicated that both positive and negative contrasts occurred in the sequential rating of picture pleasantness, whereas only negative contrast occurred for olfactory ratings. Notably, overrating of hedonically negative odors following a positive olfactory context was observed even when participants had already rated these same negative odors beforehand; conversely, this did not occur for positive contrast for either sense. These findings indicate that negative odors are more strongly influenced than positive ones, and the rating of positive stimuli may be adjusted to the preceding rating independent of stimulus context. The findings of this study revealed the unique characteristics of hedonic contrast for the olfactory senses.