Ali had put in considerable effort to complete a very challenging assignment and he was satisfied with his H2B result. But when he heard his best friend Tom had received an H1 for the same assignment, Ali became quite dissatisfied with his own performance. This is an outcome of which aspect in social comparison?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

When evaluating social comparison scenarios, we look at how a target’s performance is judged relative to a reference point. 
Option A: Assimilation effect would mean Ali’s own satisfaction moves toward Tom’s outcome, making him feel more similar to Tom or perceive his own result as closer to Tom’s, which is not what happened here. 
Option B: Contrast effect captures the phenomenon where Ali’s satisfaction is diminished because Tom achieved a higher grade, leading to a judgment that highlights the difference rather than the similarity. This fits the scenario: Ali’s good result feels less favorable in light of Tom’s H1 and triggers dissatisfaction due to comparison with a better outcome. 
Option C: Salience effect would imply that the most prominent or noticeable outcome disproportionately influences perception, but the core reaction described is about relative evaluation to Tom’s result, not simply what stood out. 
Option D: Accessibility effect refers to how easily information comes to mind affecting judgments, which isn’t the primary mechanism described here; the reaction stems from comparing outcomes, not from what is more readily recalled. 
Thus, among the options, the defining mechanism is the contrast between Ali’s good result and Tom’s better result, which aligns with the contrast effect.

PSYC20009_2025_SM2 Exam: Personality and Social Psychology (PSYC20009_2025_SM2)- Requires Respondus LockDown Browser

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