Are People More Averse of Their Peers Living in Hardship or Driving Luxury Cars? Individuals’ Willingness to Accept Their Peers’ Relative Circumstances

Abstract

Are people more afraid of peers living in hardship or peers driving luxury cars? Tri-Reference Point theory posits that individuals prioritize others’ minimum requirements over their goals. This suggests people should be less willing to accept peers’ minimum requirements are not being met (i.e., living in hardship) than peers achieving goals (i.e., driving luxury cars). However, four experiments (N = 648) revealed that in social comparison contexts, people exhibit greater reluctance toward peers “driving luxury cars” (Experiments 1–4). This phenomenon occurs because peers “driving luxury cars” triggers stronger relative deprivation in individuals (Experiments 1–2). When situational competitiveness diminishes or demonstrating peers’ effort, willingness to accept peers “driving luxury cars” increases (Experiments 3–4). Theoretically, these findings indicate that under social comparison, the psychological weighting of others’ goals versus minimum requirements reverses—individuals become more concerned with whether others achieve goals than whether they meet minimum requirements. Practically, this study offers insights for enhancing the acceptance of others’ high achievement and promoting team harmony.