Personal relative deprivation negatively predicts engagement in group decision-making
Inequality has been linked with numerous negative consequences at the societal and individual levels. The detrimental effects of inequality are proposed to operate at the individual level through social comparisons, where perceived unfair disadvantage leads to the experience of personal relative deprivation (i.e., subjective feelings of anger and resentment), which in turn causes psychosocial stress. To date, little empirical work has investigated how individual differences in personal relative deprivation influences group dynamics. In a simulated high-pressure hypothetical scenario, first-year business students (n = 150) in groups of four to six were tasked to reach a consensus decision despite being assigned roles with competing interests, then they individually completed a survey. Greater feelings of personal relative deprivation were associated with reduced group engagement. Personal relative deprivation explained 9% of variance in group exercise engagement over and above demographic and situation-related variables (e.g., stress, perceived competition, role fit), and the overall regression model accounted for 58% of total variance in group. These findings suggest that such negative socioemotional comparison reactions as personal relative deprivation have important implications for group-based decision making and small group dynamics.