How Does Social Comparison of Received Help Relate to Interpersonal Gratitude? The Roles of Self-Worth and Help Effectiveness.

Cultivating interpersonal gratitude is crucial for promoting adaptive development in emerging adults. Social comparison theory provides a more comprehensive framework for exploring the mechanisms behind the formation of interpersonal gratitude. However, empirical findings regarding the effect of soc...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Journal of Youth & Adolescence Vol. 54; no. 6; pp. 1396 - 1412
Autores principales: Li, Song, Chen, Xu
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Springer Nature Jun2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=185686367&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ssf
    uiTerm: 185686367
    longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson)
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        00472891
        JYA
      jtl: Journal of Youth & Adolescence
      issn: 00472891
      maglogo: N
    pubinfo:
      dt: Jun2025
      vid: 54
      iid: 6
      pid: 237
      pub: Springer Nature
    artinfo:
      ui:
        185686367
        10.1007/s10964-025-02138-3
      ppf: 1396
      ppct: 16
      formats:
        fmt:
          – @attributes:
              type: T
          – @attributes:
              type: P
              size: 888KB
      tig:
        atl: How Does Social Comparison of Received Help Relate to Interpersonal Gratitude? The Roles of Self-Worth and Help Effectiveness.
      aug:
        au:
          Li, Song
          Chen, Xu
        affil: https://ror.org/01kj4z117 Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
      su:
        China
        Task performance
        Dignity
        Help-seeking behavior
        Emotions
        Social theory
        Psychology
        Social skills
        Psychology of college students
        Social comparison
        Interpersonal relations
        Psychological tests
        Socialization
        Written communication
        Adults
        Statistical correlation
        Research funding
        Research
        Individual development
        Theory
        Transition to adulthood
      sug:
        subj:
          Task performance
          Dignity
          Help-seeking behavior
          Emotions
          Social theory
          Psychology
          Social skills
          Psychology of college students
          Social comparison
          Interpersonal relations
          Psychological tests
          Socialization
          Written communication
          Adults
          China
          Statistical correlation
          Research funding
          Research
          Individual development
          Theory
          Transition to adulthood
      keyword:
        Help effectiveness
        Interpersonal gratitude
        Psychology and Cognitive Sciences Psychology
        Receiving help
        Self-worth
        Help effectiveness
        Interpersonal gratitude
        Psychology and Cognitive Sciences Psychology
        Receiving help
        Self-worth
      ab: Cultivating interpersonal gratitude is crucial for promoting adaptive development in emerging adults. Social comparison theory provides a more comprehensive framework for exploring the mechanisms behind the formation of interpersonal gratitude. However, empirical findings regarding the effect of social comparison of received help on interpersonal gratitude are inconsistent, and the underlying mechanism driving this effect is still unclear. To address this, this study extended social comparison theory to help-receiving contexts, examining how social comparison of received help influences interpersonal gratitude among emerging adults in China, while exploring the mediating role of self-worth and the moderating role of help effectiveness. College students volunteered to participate in either Study 1 (N = 144, M = 21.54, 65.3% female) or Study 2 (N = 135, M = 20.81, 55.6% female). Study 1 employed a recall writing task, while Study 2 used an ecological momentary assessment technique. The two studies found consistent evidence that students who engage in a more extreme downward social comparison of received help show higher levels of interpersonal gratitude. Moreover, self-worth was an important pathway to explain this influence, particularly when students received low-efficiency help. These findings highlight the importance of reducing the self-threatening effects of low-efficiency help through social comparison in fostering interpersonal gratitude.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
    refInfo:
    copyright:
      @attributes:
        flag: N
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N