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Judgments of relationship satisfaction: Inter‐ and intraindividual comparisons as a function of questionnaire structure
Author(s) -
Schwarz Norbert,
Scheuring Bettina
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2420180603
Subject(s) - psychology , salient , social psychology , function (biology) , domain (mathematical analysis) , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , artificial intelligence , mathematics , mathematical analysis , evolutionary biology , computer science , biology
Two experiments demonstrate that individuals use an interindividual comparison strategy to evaluate a specific life‐domain if their attention is drawn to only one aspect of that domain, that has either positive or negative evaluative implications. If their attention is drawn to two aspects with opposite implications, however, an intraindividual strategy, based on the comparison of both aspects, is preferred. Whether one or two aspects bearing on a specific domain are salient is, among other conditions, a function of the number of aspects assessed in a questionnaire. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed.