Upward social comparison and withdrawal behavior in scientific researchers: The roles of envy and self-esteem
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Cite this article:
Zhang, Y.-Q.,
Zhang, Y., &
Wang, C.
(2025). Upward social comparison and withdrawal behavior in scientific researchers: The roles of envy and self-esteem.
Social Behavior and Personality: An international journal,
53(1),
e13929.
Abstract
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To test the relationship between upward social comparison and withdrawal behavior in a Chinese research context, we administered the Upward Social Comparison Scale, the Dispositional Envy Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Withdrawal Behavior Scale to 450 scientific researchers. Results showed that upward social comparison had a significantly positive predictive effect on withdrawal behavior and indirect effects on withdrawal behavior through envy; further, both stages of the mediating effect of envy were moderated by self-esteem. Specifically, for scientific researchers with low self-esteem, the indirect mediating effect of envy between upward social comparison and withdrawal behavior was significant, whereas for those with high self-esteem, the effect was not significant. This suggests that upward social comparison induces scientific researchers’ withdrawal behavior through envy, but high self-esteem can alleviate this induced effect. Our findings provide further evidence of the formation mechanism for withdrawal behavior, which have potential use in prevention and intervention programs.
Since the beginning of the 21st century the development of science and technology has been rapid, and competition among countries or regions around the world has increased significantly. At the core of this is the competition among scientific researchers, so it is vital to understand how the negative work behavior of researchers can be reduced and how their enthusiasm can be maintained. Job withdrawal behavior is a typical negative work behavior defined as the behavioral reaction of deliberately staying away from one’s workplace to avoid work; it includes behaviors such as being late, leaving early, being absent, and leaving work without permission (K.-H. Park et al., 2020). According to conservation of resources theory (Yao et al., 2022), when perceiving a reduction in one’s own resources or facing the threat of resource loss, individuals will display defensive behavior to compensate for their losses. To relieve stress and replenish lost resources, people may display a series of job withdrawal behaviors to avoid work (Hou et al., 2023; van Ruysseveldt et al., 2023). Therefore, it is necessary to explore the antecedents that lead to job withdrawal behavior to reduce the negative work behavior of researchers.
Furthermore, upward and downward social comparison have differing effects on individuals’ emotional experiences (J. Park et al., 2021). Downward social comparison refers to individuals comparing themselves with peers who are perceived as lower than oneself (Takahashi et al., 2009). This enables individuals to find confidence in comparison, improving their self-evaluation and positive emotions and reducing their negative emotions (Boissicat et al., 2022; Diel et al., 2024; McCarthy et al., 2023). Upward social comparison (USC) involves an individual comparing themself to peers who are perceived as better than them, leading to psychological inferiority, vulnerability, and stress (Lee, 2021). This type of pressure may cause individuals to deny their ability to work and withdraw passively from work, but this needs further verification. Therefore, we focused on the mechanism and relationship of USC and researchers’ withdrawal behavior.
Upward Social Comparison and Researchers’ Withdrawal Behavior
According to social comparison theory people often compare themselves with others, and USC occurs between an individual and someone who is considered superior to them (Festinger, 1954). Many behaviors are produced in a comparative environment involving USC, and they affect an individuals’ social decision-making behavior (Yu & Sun, 2023) and social inhibition behavior (Thijs et al., 2004). However, few studies have directly examined the impact of USC on withdrawal behavior. Additionally, when individuals compare themselves with people they perceive as being better than them, it produces a sense of deprivation (Pan et al., 2023), which leads to social anxiety (Xiong et al., 2021). Conversely, according to conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989) and the job demands–resources model (Demerouti & Bakker, 2011), long-term stress and excessive job requirements consume an individual’s resources, leading to them experiencing negative emotions. The accumulation of negative emotions may lead to individual withdrawal behavior (Yeh, 2011). For researchers, performance appraisal and the publication of scientific research results often increases the competition and comparison among peers, so the negative effects of USC may be more obvious. On the basis of these observations, we proposed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1: Upward social comparison will have a significantly positive predictive effect on researchers’ withdrawal behavior.
The Mediating Role of Envy
Envy, which is an unpleasant emotion experienced by individuals when they realize that others have what they are trying to obtain but lack, can be an outcome of USC (Smith & Kim, 2007; Tai et al., 2012). Social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) holds that USC often represents an unachievable and frustrated desire. When the advantages of others cannot be changed or controlled, hostility may occur, which is one of the main features of envy (Bogart et al., 2004; Xiang et al., 2021). That is, USC is more likely to cause negative feelings related to being unable to compete with others, and individuals’ envy often arises from USC (Gomez et al., 2022). Therefore, this study posited that USC would positively predict envy. There have been few studies of the relationship between envy and withdrawal behavior, but some researchers have found that envy can cause negative emotions like depression (Jiang & Wang, 2020) and anxiety (Li et al., 2022), which may lead to withdrawal behavior (Yi et al., 2023). Hence, we proposed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 2: Envy will play a mediating role between upward social comparison and researchers’ withdrawal behavior.
The Moderating Role of Self-Esteem
The effect of social comparison on an individual’s cognitive evaluation and emotional experience is also regulated by self-esteem (Aspinwall & Taylor, 1993; Lajunen & Haug, 2023). As an individual’s emotional evaluation of their overall self, self-esteem is an important regulating variable at the individual characteristic level (Ruan et al., 2023). USC causes individuals with low self-esteem to be more likely to experience the negative consequences of social comparison and to experience more negative emotions (Yang & Zhang, 2022). In contrast, individuals with high self-esteem are more likely to believe their own information and to experience fewer negative emotions (Fernandes et al., 2021; Jaaffar et al., 2019). Therefore, high self-esteem represents a positive evaluation of the overall self, which can help individuals deal with the sense of inferiority and threats related to USC, thus reducing the negative impact of USC. When individuals perceive themselves as inferior in a social comparison setting, they tend to project their dissatisfaction and fear of weakness onto others with dominant traits and to feel envy (Sung et al., 2024). Envy is often associated with a lower level of self-esteem (Hong et al., 2020); hence, if an individual has high self-esteem, they have a positive attitude toward themself (Păunescu et al., 2014), which may ease the sense of self-threat caused by envy and alleviate the strengthening effect of envy on their negative behavior. Therefore, we proposed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 3a: Self-esteem will play a moderating role in the influence of upward social comparison on researchers’ envy, such that low self-esteem will strengthen the positive effect of upward social comparison on researchers’ envy.
Hypothesis 3b: Self-esteem will play a moderating role in the influence of envy on researchers’ withdrawal behavior, such that low self-esteem will strengthen the positive effect of envy on researchers’ withdrawal behavior.
The hypothesized model is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. The Hypothesized Model
Method
Participants and Procedure
The Ethics Committee of Inner Mongolia Normal University approved this study. Through a combination of snowball, cluster, and individual sampling, we selected scientific researchers from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Gansu Province. These participants completed a written survey at their workplace in a group setting at a time that was convenient for them. The researchers introduced the purpose of the survey and the rules for completion, then the participants filled out the survey and returned it. The survey included items about demographics (e.g., gender and age), as well as four scales. We disseminated 450 surveys and collected 398 valid forms for a response rate of 88.44%. Among the final sample, 196 were men (49.25%) and 202 were women (50.75%). The average age was 33.83 ± 8.49 years.
Measures
All measures were originally developed in English, so we had these translated by a graduate student whose major was in English, then back-translated by another graduate to check the Chinese translation was accurate.
Upward Social Comparison
To measure USC, we used the six-item Upward Social Comparison Scale, adapted from the Comparison Orientation Scale examining ability (Gibbons & Buunk, 1999). The term “others” was replaced with “stronger people” in our questionnaire. To meet the needs of the current study, we replaced the word “others” with “stronger people” in the questions (e.g., “If I want to find out how well I have done something, I compare what I have done with how stronger people have done it”). All items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), and one item was reverse scored. The scale has a one-dimensional structure. The higher the total score, the higher the level of USC. In this study Cronbach’s alpha was .88, indicating the scale is reliable.
Envy
We used the Dispositional Envy Scale (Smith et al., 1999) to examine envy. It comprises eight items scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). A sample item is “I feel envy every day.” The scale has a one-dimensional structure. The higher the total score, the higher the level of envy. In this study Cronbach’s alpha was .88, indicating the scale is reliable.
Self-Esteem
To analyze self-esteem we used the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965), which comprises 10 items scored on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). Five of the items were reverse scored. A sample item is “On the whole, I am satisfied with myself.” The scale has a one-dimensional structure. The higher the total score, the higher the level of self-esteem. In this study Cronbach’s alpha was .83, indicating the scale is reliable.
Withdrawal Behavior
To measure withdrawal behavior we used the four-item physical withdrawal behavior subscale from the Job Behavior Factor Scales (Lehman & Simpson, 1992). All items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 7 (very often). A sample item is “In the last 12 months, how often have you fallen asleep at work?” The scale has a one-dimensional structure. The higher the total score, the higher the level of withdrawal behavior. In this study Cronbach’s alpha was .71, indicating the scale is reliable.
Results
Test of Common Method Bias and Primary Analysis
We used Harman’s single-factor test to examine whether there was common method bias in the data. We standardized all items and found there were seven common factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, and the first common factor explained 12.15% of the variance, which is less than the recommended cut-off of 40% (Podsakoff et al., 2003). Hence, we determined that there was no serious common method bias in this study.
Table 1 shows the means and standard deviations of the principal variables. We first controlled for the variables of gender and age, then we standardized the variables of USC, envy, self-esteem, and withdrawal behavior. The results suggested that USC was positively correlated with envy and scientific researchers’ withdrawal behavior, but negatively correlated with self-esteem. Envy was also negatively correlated with self-esteem and was positively correlated with withdrawal behavior, while self-esteem was negatively correlated with withdrawal behavior. All of these correlations were significant.
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Matrices for the Principal Variables
Note. N = 398. USC = upward social comparison.
*** p < .001.
Hypothesis Testing
We employed Model 58 in PROCESS v3.3 (Hayes, 2017) to test the association between USC and scientific researchers’ withdrawal behavior in order to determine whether envy mediated this relationship and whether both the first and second stages of the mediating effect of envy were moderated by self-esteem. Gender and age served as control variables. The results (see Table 2) showed that USC had a significant predictive effect on envy, and envy significantly predicted scientific researchers’ withdrawal behavior. The direct effect of USC on scientific researchers’ withdrawal behavior was not significant, but the indirect effect of envy as a mediator of the relationship between USC and scientific researchers’ withdrawal behavior was significant. Thus, Hypotheses 1 and 2 were supported.
Table 2. Mediation and Moderation Effects Analysis
Note. N = 398. USC = upward social comparison; X = dependent variable; M = mediator; w = outcome variable; Y = moderator; CI = confidence interval; UL = upper limit; LL = lower limit.
* p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001.
To analyze the mediating effect of the moderated mediation model, we conducted simple slope analysis, dividing self-esteem into high and low groups (M ± 1 SD). The results suggested that for scientific researchers with low self-esteem (M − 1 SD), the indirect effect of envy as a mediator of the relationship between USC and withdrawal behavior was significant. For scientific researchers with high self-esteem (M + 1 SD), the indirect effect of envy as a mediator of the relationship between USC and withdrawal behavior was not significant.
The interaction term of USC and self-esteem had a significant predictive effect on envy. Further, to better explain the moderating function of self-esteem, we conducted a simple slope analysis (see Figure 2). The results suggested that for scientific researchers with low self-esteem (M – 1 SD), USC had a significant predictive effect on envy. However, for those with high self-esteem (M + 1 SD), USC had no significant predictive effect on envy.
Figure 2. The Moderating Effect of Self-Esteem on the Relationship Between Upward Social Comparison and Envy
Note. USC = upward social comparison.
The interaction between self-esteem and envy had a significant predictive effect on scientific researchers’ withdrawal behavior. Moreover, the results of a simple slope analysis suggested that for scientific researchers with low self-esteem (M – 1 SD), envy had a significant predictive effect on withdrawal behavior, and for scientific researchers with high self-esteem (M + 1 SD), envy also had a significant predictive effect on withdrawal behavior, but the effect of the latter was weaker than that of the former (see Figure 3). Thus, both the first and second stages of the mediating effect of envy were moderated by self-esteem, and Hypothesis 3 was supported.
Figure 3. The Moderating Effect of Self-Esteem on the Relationship Between Envy and Withdrawal Behavior
Discussion
Chinese management culture emphasizes people learning from heroes and role models, as well as striving to emulate those who excel and who pay attention to the positive effects of USC. In addition, Chinese people have the tradition of “seeing the wise and thinking of the same,” meaning that being equal to or even surpassing the strong will bring psychological satisfaction. Therefore, in Chinese academia, USC is encouraged. Although USC is motivating in the short term and encourages people to achieve their goals (Diel et al., 2024), the negative effects of USC cannot be ignored. That is, USC is closely related to negative emotional experiences (H. J. Park & Park, 2023; Zheng et al., 2020), which seriously affect people’s mental health (Lattie et al., 2019). Our results also suggest that USC can lead to envy, which, in turn, leads to withdrawal behavior. Thus, the negative effects of USC are cross-cultural, and the conclusions of this study may be internationally popularized. Combined with the results of this study, Chinese research institutions and scholars should keep in mind the negative consequences of USC.
Even though the current environment in Chinese academia of emphasizing “keeping up with the strong” cannot be changed at present, this study also indicates that a high level of self-esteem can alleviate the strengthening effect of USC on envy and the strengthening effect of envy on the withdrawal behavior of scientific researchers. Self-esteem tends to entail internal self-recognition, but when an individual’s internal identity is strong and stable, the need for external recognition is reduced (Hu & Chen, 2018). Since researchers with high self-esteem have a stable and positive understanding of their own value, they are not easily affected by the threats brought about by the object of comparison in USC, thus reducing their negative emotions, including envy. Envy affects people’s mental health (Xiang et al., 2019) and causes stress (Kim & Jang, 2023). Additionally, employees may display irrational behavior like withdrawal behavior due to the excessive consumption of resources (Chen et al., 2022), which the results of our study also support. From an emotional viewpoint, when individuals experience envy, their own weaknesses may be exposed (Lisovenko, 2016), but individuals with high self-esteem tend to experience fewer of the negative effects of envy because of their positive attitude toward themselves. Our study also suggests that high self-esteem can inhibit the strengthening effect of envy on negative behavior.
Limitations and Future Research Directions
Our study has some limitations. First, we used a survey to collect cross-sectional data at a single time point, so we can only predict possible causal relationships, not accurately determine them. Therefore, in future research the causal relationships between and mechanisms of USC and the withdrawal behavior of scientific researchers could be studied via other methods, such as experiments. Second, participants in our study were primarily from universities. Although scientific researchers in China can mostly be found at universities, other institutions, such as government departments and enterprises, also employ these individuals. Therefore, in future studies the sample could be broadened and diversified to supplement our findings.
Conclusion
We constructed a relationship model among upward social comparison, envy, self-esteem, and scientific researchers’ withdrawal behavior. We found USC has a significant positive predictive effect on withdrawal behavior and indirectly affects withdrawal behavior through envy, but high self-esteem can alleviate this induced effect.
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Boissicat, N., Fayant, M.-P., Nurra, C., & Muller, D. (2022). Social comparison in the classroom: Priming approach/avoidance changes the impact of social comparison on self-evaluation and performance. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(2), 594–609.
Chen, J., Fan, Q., & Huang, M. (2022). The withdrawal behaviors of rural migrant workers: A perspective from multiple embeddedness and identity strain [In Chinese]. Advances in Psychological Science, 30(9), 1955–1967.
Demerouti, E., & Bakker, A. B. (2011). The job demands–resources model: Challenges for future research. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 37(2), Article 974.
Diel, K., Hofmann, W., Grelle, S., Boecker, L., & Friese, M. (2024). Prepare to compare: Effects of an intervention involving upward and downward social comparisons on goal pursuit in daily life. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Advance online publication.
Fernandes, B., Newton, J., & Essau, C. A. (2021). The mediating effects of self-esteem on anxiety and emotion regulation. Psychological Reports, 125(2), 787–803.
Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117–140.
Gibbons, F. X., & Buunk, B. P. (1999). Individual differences in social comparison: Development of a scale of social comparison orientation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(1), 129–142.
Gomez, M., Klare, D., Ceballos, N., Dailey, S., Kaiser, S., & Howard, K. (2022). Do you dare to compare?: The key characteristics of social media users who frequently make online upward social comparisons. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 38(10), 938–948.
Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. The Guilford Press.
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524.
Hong, Y. J., Liu, L. T., Lin, R. M., & Lian, R. (2020). The relationship between perceived control and life satisfaction in Chinese undergraduates: The mediating role of envy and moderating role of self-esteem. Current Psychology, 41, 3501–3509.
Hou, J., Da, S., Wei, Y., & Zhang, X. (2023). Work-family conflict and withdrawal behavior among mainland China’s IT employees: The mediating role of emotional exhaustion and moderating role of job autonomy. Industrial Health, 61(2), 112–124.
Hu, X., & Chen, Y. (2018). The effect of incremental belief about intelligence on self-evaluation in a high-threat condition: The influence of order and self-esteem [In Chinese]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 16(2), 195–201.
Jaaffar, A. H., Ibrahim, H. I., Rajadurai, J., & Sohail, M. S. (2019). Psychological impact of work-integrated learning programmes in Malaysia: The moderating role of self-esteem on relation between self-efficacy and self-confidence. International Journal of Educational Psychology, 8(2), 188–213.
Jiang, X., & Wang, J. (2020). The causal relationship between envy and depression: A cross-lagged regression analysis. Social Behavior and Personality: An international journal, 48(12), Article e9444.
Kim, H., & Jang, E. (2023). Workplace ostracism effects on employees’ negative health outcomes: Focusing on the mediating role of envy. Behavioral Sciences, 13(8), Article 669.
Lajunen, T. J., & Haug, I. S. O. (2023). The relationships between Instagram use, emotional and behavioural responses, self-esteem, emotional investment, and social comparison. Sage Open, 13(3), Article 21582440231193916.
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Figure 1. The Hypothesized Model
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Matrices for the Principal Variables
Note. N = 398. USC = upward social comparison.
*** p < .001.
Table 2. Mediation and Moderation Effects Analysis
Note. N = 398. USC = upward social comparison; X = dependent variable; M = mediator; w = outcome variable; Y = moderator; CI = confidence interval; UL = upper limit; LL = lower limit.
* p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001.
Figure 2. The Moderating Effect of Self-Esteem on the Relationship Between Upward Social Comparison and Envy
Note. USC = upward social comparison.
Figure 3. The Moderating Effect of Self-Esteem on the Relationship Between Envy and Withdrawal Behavior
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding authors.
Yuzhu Zhang, President’s Office, Hulunbuir University, 26 Genghis Khan Zhong Road, Hailar District, Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia, People’s Republic of China 021008. Email: [email protected], or Chang Wang, College of Education, Shengle Campus, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Helingeer, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, People’s Republic of China 011517. Email: [email protected]
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