Feeling disadvantaged can have a profound impact on how we perceive and interact with others, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology. The research reveals a psychological link between feeling left behind in the social hierarchy and a tendency to view interpersonal relationships as mere transactions, treating others as tools for personal gain. This finding highlights the complex ways in which our social perceptions and behaviors are shaped by our sense of relative deprivation.
Social comparisons are an inherent part of human behavior, as we constantly evaluate our success, goals, and place in society against our peers. Upward comparisons, where we look to those with more wealth, better jobs, or higher social standing, can sometimes motivate self-improvement, but they often leave us feeling disadvantaged and frustrated. This experience, known as personal relative deprivation, is linked to negative mental health outcomes and altered social behavior, including increased aggression, greed, and a decreased willingness to engage in helpful behaviors.
To understand the psychological mechanisms behind this phenomenon, researchers Xuegang Zheng, Jie Leng, and Ping Hu from Renmin University of China explored how feelings of relative deprivation lead to the objectification of others. They hypothesized that people who feel deprived start to view their peers as objects to be used rather than as human beings with inner lives, a process known as objectification in psychology. This objectification ignores the autonomy, agency, and subjective experiences of others, treating them as mere instruments to achieve personal goals.
The researchers suspected that relative deprivation pushes people toward an exchange orientation in their relationships, where interactions are based on the strict tracking of costs and benefits, similar to a financial transaction. This contrasts with communal relationships, where support is based on mutual care without concern for who owes whom.
To test these ideas, the researchers conducted three distinct investigations. The first study, involving 3,482 university freshmen in China, revealed a reliable association between feelings of relative deprivation and the tendency to objectify others. This relationship remained consistent even after accounting for age and gender differences. However, this study relied on survey correlations and could not determine causality or fully explain the psychological process.
The second study, with 250 adults, introduced a transactional mindset as the connecting mechanism. Participants answered questions about relative deprivation, objectification, and their tendency to track costs and benefits in friendships. The survey also measured dark personality traits and the desire for social power. The researchers found that feeling deprived was strongly linked to adopting an exchange orientation, which in turn predicted the objectification of others. This pathway remained robust even when factoring out the influence of dark personality traits and the desire for social dominance.
To establish a causal link, the third study with 194 adults used an experimental design to manipulate feelings of deprivation. Participants were asked to imagine living on a newly discovered planet where resources were stored vertically, making flying the most important skill for a good life. They were then compared to the planet's most and least successful residents, inducing high and low relative deprivation. The experiment showed that participants in the high deprivation group adopted a stronger transactional mindset, valuing instrumental skills over interpersonal warmth in new friendships.
The study authors noted several caveats, including the reliance on hypothetical scenarios and self-reported questionnaires, which may not perfectly capture actual face-to-face interactions. The research also utilized samples entirely from China, and different cultural norms might alter how people react to feeling disadvantaged. Additionally, while the transactional mindset is a proven pathway to objectification, other psychological reactions might also contribute to the breakdown of social relationships when people feel left behind.
Future research could explore interventions emphasizing community bonds to reverse the objectifying effect and investigate how long transactional mindsets persist after a person's social standing improves. The study highlights the profound impact of feeling disadvantaged on our social perceptions and behaviors, offering insights into the complex interplay between our sense of relative deprivation and our interactions with others.
