Abstract
Objectives
This study employed an experimental design that induced social comparison in couples by systematically varying performance feedback in a manipulated pretend IQ test.
Methods
Sixty-two heterosexual couples were randomly assigned to four experimental groups, in which either the man (1) or the woman (2) was provided with superior feedback and compared to couples which received equal feedback (3) or no feedback (4). The biopsychological responses were assessed using repeated measures of mood, levels of the gonadal hormones testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2), and the stress hormone cortisol (C) in both partners.
Results
Compared to the men, the entire female sample responded to the test with a decrease in T. Women who received superior feedback showed a unique endocrine profile, characterized by an immediate increase in E2 and a delayed decrease in T. In contrast to men, women’s mood decreased in all conditions except for the superior feedback.
Conclusions
Our results indicate that women may be physiologically and subjectively more strongly affected by comparison processes with their partners in the dimension of skills and achievement. Moreover, our findings are the first to show that in romantic relationships, the endocrine correlates of social comparison may include an intriguing interplay between the steroid hormones T and E2, but not C.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aron, A., Aron, E. N., & Smollan, D. (1992). Inclusion of other in the self scale. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(4), 596–612. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.63.4.596.
Baldwin, M. W., Granzberg, A., Pippus, L., & Pritchard, E. T. (2003). Cued activation of relational schemas: Self-evaluation and gender effects. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 35(2), 153–163. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0087197.
Bateup, H., Booth, A., Shirtcliff, E. A., & Granger, D. A. (2002). Testosterone, cortisol, and women’s competition. Evolution and Human Behavior, 23(3), 181–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1090-5138(01)00100-3.
Beach, S., & Tesser, A. (1995). Self-esteem and the extended self-evaluation maintenance model: The self in social context. Efficacy, Agency, and Self-Esteem. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1280-0_8.
Beach, S., Tesser, A., Mendolia, M., Anderson, P., Crelia, R., Whitaker, D., & Fincham, F. D. (1996). Self-evaluation maintenance in marriage: Toward a performance ecology of the marital relationship. Journal of Family Psychology, 10, 379–396. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.10.4.379.
Beach, S., Tesser, A., Finchman, F. D., Jones, D. J., Johnson, D., & Whitaker, D. J. (1998). Pleasure and pain in doing well together. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 74(4), 923–938.
Berg, S., & Wynne-Edwards, K. E. (2001). Changes in testosterone, cortisol, and estradiol levels in men becoming fathers. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 76(6), 582–592. https://doi.org/10.4065/76.6.582.
Booth, A., Shelley, G., Mazur, A., Tharp, G., & Kittok, R. (1989). Testosterone, and winning and losing in human competition. Hormones and Behavior, 23(4), 556–571. https://doi.org/10.1016/0018-506X(89)90042-1.
Burnham, T. C., Chapman, J. F., Gray, P. B., McIntyre, M. H., Lipson, S. F., & Ellison, P. T. (2003). Men in committed, romantic relationships have lower testosterone. Hormones and Behavior, 44(2), 119–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0018-506X(03)00125-9.
Campbell, J., & Ehlert, U. (2012). Acute psychosocial stress: Does the emotional stress response correspond with physiological responses? Psychoneuroendocrinology., 37, 1111–1134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.12.010.
Carlton, A. H., & McCullough, B. C. (1981). Status relationships in dual-employment marriages: Consequences for psychological well-being. Journal of Marriage and Family, 43(1), 125–141.
Carré, J., & Olmstead, N. (2015). Social neuroendocrinology of human aggression: Examining the role of competition-induced testosterone dynamics. Neuroscience, 286, 171–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.11.029.
Casto, K., & Edwards, D. A. (2016a). Before, during, and after: How phases of competition differentially affect testosterone, cortisol, and estradiol levels in women athletes. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, 2(1), 11–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-015-0028-2.
Casto, K., & Edwards, D. A. (2016b). Testosterone, cortisol, and human competition. Hormones and Behavior, 82, 21–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.04.004.
Costa, R., & Salvador, A. (2012). Associations between success and failure in a face-to-face competition and psychobiological parameters in young women. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 37(11), 1780–1790. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.03.012.
Dabbs, J. (1990). Salivary testosterone measurements: Reliability across hours, days, and weeks. Physiology and Behavior, 48(1), 83–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9384(90)90265-6.
Derogatis, L. R. (1994). Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R): Administration, scoring, and procedures manual (3rd ed.). Minneapolis: NCS Pearson.
Dickerson, S. S., & Kemeny, M. E. (2004). Acute stressors and cortisol responses: A theoretical integration and synthesis of laboratory research. Psychological Bulletin., 130, 355–391. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.355.
Djamasbi, S., & Loiacono, E. T. (2008). Do men and women use feedback provided by their decision support systems (DSS) differently? Decision Support Systems, 44(4), 854–869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2007.10.008.
Edelstein, R. S., Kean, E. L., & Chopik, W. J. (2012). Women with an avoidant attachment style show attenuated estradiol responses to emotionally intimate stimuli. Hormones and Behavior, 61(2), 167–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.11.007.
Edwards, D. A., Wetzel, K., & Wyner, D. R. (2006). Intercollegiate soccer: Saliva cortisol and testosterone are elevated during competition, and testosterone is related to status and social connectedness with teammates. Physiology and Behavior, 87(1), 135–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2005.09.007.
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Buchner, A., & Lang, A.-G. A. (2009). G*Power. Behavior Research Methods, 41(4), 1149–1160.
Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675400700202.
Fiacco, S., Palm-Fischbacher, S., Campbell, J., & Ehlert, U. (2018). Measuring female intrasexual competition by the scale for intrasexual competition: A validation of the German version. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 22, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-018-0890-6.
Field, A. (2012). Discovering statistics using SPSS: (and sex and drugs and rock “n” roll) (3rd ed.). London: SAGE.
Garcia, S. M., Tor, A., & Schiff, T. M. (2013). The psychology of competition: A social comparison perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8(6), 634–650. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691613504114.
Geniole, S. N., Bird, B. M., Ruddick, E. L., & Carré, J. M. (2017). Effects of competition outcome on testosterone concentrations in humans: An updated meta-analysis. Hormones and Behavior, 92, 37–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.10.002.
Gettler, L. T., McDade, T. W., Feranil, A. B., & Kuzawa, C. W. (2011). Longitudinal evidence that fatherhood decreases testosterone in human males. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(39), 16194–16199. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1105403108.
Gladue, B. A., Boechler, M., & McCaul, K. D. (1989). Hormonal response to competition in human males. Aggressive Behavior, 15(6), 409–422. https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-2337(1989)15:6<409::AID-AB2480150602>3.0.CO;2-P.
Grant, V. J., & France, J. T. (2001). Dominance and testosterone in women. Biological Psychology, 58(1), 41–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-0511(01)00100-4.
Gray, P. B., Kahlenberg, S. M., Barrett, E. S., Lipson, S. F., & Ellison, P. T. (2002). Marriage and fatherhood are associated with lower testosterone in males. Evolution and Human Behavior, 23(3), 193–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1090-5138(01)00101-5.
Hahlweg, K. (1979). Konstruktion und Validierung des Partnerschaftsfragebogen PFB. Zeitschrift für Klinische Psychologie, 8(1), 17–40.
Hamilton, L. D., & Meston, C. M. (2011). The role of salivary cortisol and DHEA-S in response to sexual, humorous, and anxiety-inducing stimuli. Hormones and Behavior, 59(5), 765–771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2010.12.011.
Hasegawa, M., Toda, M., & Morimoto, K. (2008). Changes in salivary physiological stress markers associated with winning and losing. Biomedical Research (Tokyo, Japan), 29(1), 43–46. https://doi.org/10.2220/biomedres.29.43.
Heinz, A., Hermann, D., Smolka, M. N., Rieks, M., Gräf, K. J., Pöhlau, D., Kuhn, W., & Bauer, M. (2003). Effects of acute psychological stress on adhesion molecules, interleukins and sex hormones: Implications for coronary heart disease. Psychopharmacology, 165(2), 111–117. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-002-1244-6.
Hellhammer, D. H., Hubert, W., & Schürmeyer, T. (1985). Changes in saliva testosterone after psychological stimulation in men. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 10(1), 77–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-4530(85)90041-1.
Jiménez, M., Aguilar, R., & Alvero-Cruz, J. R. (2012). Effects of victory and defeat on testosterone and cortisol response to competition: Evidence for same response patterns in men and women. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 37(9), 1577–1581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.02.011.
Johnson, M., & Helgeson, V. S. (2002). Sex differences in response to evaluative feedback: A field study. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26(3), 242–251. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-6402.00063.
Kenny, D. A., Kashy, D. A., & Cook, W. L. (2006). Dyadic data analysis. Methodology in the social sciences, 156, 278–279. https://doi.org/10.1038/156278a0.
Kirschbaum, C., Pirke, K. M., & Hellhammer, D. H. (1993). The “Trier Social Stress Test” - A tool for investigating psychobiological stress responses in a laboratory setting. Neuropsychobiology, 28(1–2), 76–81.
Kivlighan, K. T., Granger, D. A., & Booth, A. (2005). Gender differences in testosterone and cortisol response to competition. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 30(1), 58–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2004.05.009.
Lennartsson, A.-K., Kushnir, M. M., Bergquist, J., Billig, H., & Jonsdottir, I. H. (2012). Sex steroid levels temporarily increase in response to acute psychosocial stress in healthy men and women. International Journal of Psychophysiology : Official Journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology, 84(3), 246–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2012.03.001.
Liening, S. H., & Josephs, R. a. (2010). It is not just about testosterone: Physiological mediators and moderators of testosterone’s behavioral effects. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4(11), 982–994. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00316.x.
Locke, K. D. (2003). Status and solidarity in social comparison: Agentic and communal values and vertical and horizontal directions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology., 84, 619–631. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.3.619.
Locke, K. D. (2005). Connecting the horizontal dimension of social comparison with self-worth and self-confidence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31(6), 795–803. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167204271634.
Lockwood, P., Dolderman, D., Sadler, P., & Gerchak, E. (2004). Feeling better about doing worse: Social comparisons within romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology., 87, 80–95. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.87.1.80.
Lundgren, D. C., & Rudawsky, D. J. (1998). Female and male college students’ responses to negative feedback from parents and peers. Sex Roles, 39(5/6), 409–429.
Marin, M. F., Morin-Major, J. K., Schramek, T. E., Beaupré, A., Perna, A., Juster, R. P., & Lupien, S. J. (2012). There is no news like bad news: Women are more remembering and stress reactive after reading real negative news than men. PLoS One, 7(10), e47189. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0047189.
Mason, J. W. (1968). A review of psychoendocrine research on the pituary-adrenal cortical system. Psychosomatic Medicine, 676–607.
Mason, J. (1975). Emotions as reflected as patterns of endocrine integration. In L. Levi (Ed.), Emotions: Their Parameters and Measurements. New York: Raven Press.
Mazur, A. (2013). Biosocial model of status in face-to-face primate groups. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 84, 53–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.06.508.
Mazur, A., & Booth, A. (1998). Testosterone and dominance in men. Behavioral and Brain Sciences., 21. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X98001228.
Mazur, A., & Lamb, T. A. (1980). Testosterone, status, and mood in human males. Topics in Catalysis, 14(3), 236–246. https://doi.org/10.1016/0018-506X(80)90032-X.
Mazur, A., Booth, A., & Dabbs, J. (1992). Testosterone and chess competition. Social Psychology Quarterly, 55(1), 70. https://doi.org/10.2307/2786687.
Mazur, A., Susman, E. J., & Edelbrock, S. (1997). Sex difference in testosterone response to a video game contest. Evolution and Human Behavior, 18(5), 317–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1090-5138(97)00013-5.
McCarty, P. a. (1986). Effects of feedback on the self-confidence of men and women. Academy of Management Journal, 29, 840–847. https://doi.org/10.2307/255950.
McCaul, K. D., Gladue, B. A., & Joppa, M. (1992). Winning, losing, mood, and testosterone. Hormones and Behavior, 26(4), 486–504. https://doi.org/10.1016/0018-506X(92)90016-O.
McDonough, P., Williams, D. R., House, J. S., & Duncan, G. J. (1999). Gender and the socioeconomic gradient in mortality. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 40(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.2307/2676376.
Mendes, W. B., Blascovich, J., Major, B., & Seery, M. (2001). Challenge and threat responses during downward and upward social comparisons. European Journal of Social Psychology, 31(5), 477–497. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.80.
Mendes, W. B., Blascovich, J., Lickel, B., & Hunter, S. (2002). Challenge and threat during social interactions with white and black men. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28(7), 939–952. https://doi.org/10.1177/01467202028007007.
Niederle, M., & Versterlund, L. (2011). Gender and competition. Annual Review of Economics, 3, 601–630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2009.08.002.
Oliveira, T., Gouveia, M. J., & Oliveira, R. F. (2009). Testosterone responsiveness to winning and losing experiences in female soccer players. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34(7), 1056–1064. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.02.006.
Phillips, A. C., Gallagher, S., & Carroll, D. (2009). Social support, social intimacy, and cardiovascular reactions to acute psychological stress. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 37(1), 38–45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-008-9077-0.
Pinkus, R. T., Lockwood, P., Schimmack, U., & Fournier, M. A. (2008). For better and for worse: Everyday social comparisons between romantic partners. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(5), 1180–1201. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.95.5.1180.
Ratliff, K. A., & Oishi, S. (2013). Gender differences in implicit self-esteem following a romantic partner’s success or failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105(4), 688–702 https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033769.
Roberts, T. A. (1991). The influence of evaluations on self-assessments in achievement settings. Psychological Bulletin, 109(2), 297–308. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.109.2.297.
Roberts, T. A., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1989). Sex differences in reactions to evaluative feedback. Sex Roles, 21(11–12), 725–747. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00289805.
Schoofs, D., & Wolf, O. T. (2011). Are salivary gonadal steroid concentrations influenced by acute psychosocial stress? A study using the Trier social stress test (TSST). International Journal of Psychophysiology, 80(1), 36–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2011.01.008.
Schultheiss, O. C., & Brunstein, J. C. (2001). Assessment of implicit motives with a research version of the TAT: Picture profiles, gender differences, and relations to other personality measures. Journal of Personality Assessment, 77(1), 71–86. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327752JPA7701_05.
Schultheiss, O. C., Dargel, A., & Rohde, W. (2003). Implicit motives and gonadal steroid hormones: Effects of menstrual cycle phase, oral contraceptive use, and relationship status. Hormones and Behavior, 43(2), 293–301. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0018-506X(03)00003-5.
Schwalbe, M. L., & Staples, C. L. (1991). Gender differences in sources of self-esteem. Social Psychology Quarterly, 54(2), 158. https://doi.org/10.2307/2786933.
Sellers, J. G., Mehl, M. R., & Josephs, R. A. (2007). Hormones and personality: Testosterone as a marker of individual differences. Journal of Research in Personality, 41(1), 126–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2006.02.004.
Serrano, M. A., Salvador, A., González-Bono, E., Sanchís, C., & Suay, F. (2000). Hormonal responses to competition. Psicothema, 12(3), 440–444.
Shapiro, A. F., Gottman, J. M., & Carrère, S. (2000). The baby and the marriage: Identifying factors that buffer against decline in marital satisfaction after the first baby arrives. Journal of Family Psychology, 14(1), 59–70. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.14.1.59.
Spielberger, C. D. (1991). State-trait anger expression inventory: STAXI professional manual. Psychological assessment resources. Odessa: PAR.
Springer, K. W. (2010). Economic dependence in marriage and husbands’ midlife health: Testing three possible mechanisms. Gender and Society, 24(3), 378–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243210371621.
Stanton, S., & Schultheiss, O. C. (2007). Basal and dynamic relationships between implicit power motivation and estradiol in women. Hormones and Behavior, 52(5), 571–580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2007.07.002.
Stanton, S., & Schultheiss, O. C. (2009). The hormonal correlates of implicit motives. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 43, 942–949. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12008.
Steinmayr, R., & Amelang, M. (2006). Erste Untersuchungen zur Kriteriums-Validität des I-S-T 2000 R an Erwachsenen beiderlei Geschlechts. Diagnostica, 52(4), 181–188. https://doi.org/10.1026/0012-1924.52.4.181.
Steyer, R., Schwenkmezger, P., Notz, P., & Eid, M. (1997). Der Mehrdimensionale Befindlichkeitsfragebogen (MDBF). Handanweisungen. Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Tesser, A. (1988). Toward a self-evaluation maintenance model of social behavior. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 21(C), 181–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60227-0.
Tesser, A., & Campbell, J. (1982). Self-evaluation maintenance and the perception of friends and strangers. Journal of Personality, 50(3), 261–279. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1982.tb00750.x.
van Anders, S. M. (2010). Chewing gum has large effects on salivary testosterone, estradiol, and secretory immunoglobulin a assays in women and men. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 35(2), 305–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.06.009.
van Anders, S. M., & Watson, N. V. (2007). Effects of ability- and chance-determined competition outcome on testosterone. Physiology and Behavior, 90(4), 634–642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2006.11.017.
Van Anders, S. M., Brotto, L., Farrell, J., & Yule, M. (2009). Associations among physiological and subjective sexual response, sexual desire, and salivary steroid hormones in healthy premenopausal women. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 6(3), 739–751. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2008.01123.x.
Van Anders, S. M., Goldey, K. L., & Kuo, P. X. (2011). The steroid/peptide theory of social bonds: Integrating testosterone and peptide responses for classifying social behavioral contexts. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 36(9), 1265–1275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.06.001.
van der Meij, L., Buunk, A. P., Almela, M., & Salvador, A. (2010). Testosterone responses to competition: The opponent’s psychological state makes it challenging. Biological Psychology, 84(2), 330–335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.03.017.
Zilioli, S., & Watson, N. V. (2012). The hidden dimensions of the competition effect: Basal cortisol and basal testosterone jointly predict changes in salivary testosterone after social victory in men. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 37(11), 1855–1865. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.03.022.
Zilioli, S., & Watson, N. V. (2014). Testosterone across successive competitions: Evidence for a “winner effect” in humans? Psychoneuroendocrinology, 47, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.05.001.
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank Firouzeh Farahmand for performing the hormone analyses and all the master students for their assistance in collecting the data.
Funding
This work was supported by Stiftung für Wissenschaftliche Forschung at the University of Zurich, Switzerland to UE and JC. The sponsor was not involved in designing the study or in any further step of data collection.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
The authors declare that all procedures contributing to this work comply with the laws of the country in which it was performed. The study was approved by the relevant institutional Ethics committee and complies with the principles of the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments. All participants provided informed consent before their inclusion in the study. The authors state that they do not have financial relationships with the organizations that sponsored the research. The authors also state that they have full control of all primary data and that they agree to allow the journal to review their data if requested.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Campbell, J., Fiacco, S., Ditzen, B. et al. Endocrine Correlates of Social Comparison in Couple Relationships. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology 5, 187–210 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-019-00112-5
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-019-00112-5