Self-determination and social comparison in a health-promotion setting

Self-concordant motivation to improve one's health may influence concurrent experiences of social comparison and later membership in a health-promotion facility. Adult members of such a facility (N = 473) completed brief measures of their main goal in joining; self-concordance of that goal; and typical frequency, direction, consequences, and motives of social comparison. Continuing membership was assessed after 2 years. Logistic and ordinary least squares regression analyses, controlling for respondents' age, sex, and years of membership, supported hypothesized associations of higher self-concordance with (a) greater odds of continuing membership, (b) lower frequency of comparing oneself with others, (c) lower odds of feeling worse about oneself on account of social comparison, and (d) less agreement with esteem-maintenance, versus self-improvement/evaluation, as a motive for social comparison. Although there are limitations to respondents' self-reports, social comparison seems to result in fewer negative psychological consequences for individuals with more self-concordant health-related goals. Implications for health-related behavior are discussed.