Study reveals a psychological link between feeling disadvantaged and using people

Key Points:

• Recent research published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology reveals that feeling relatively disadvantaged compared to peers leads individuals to view relationships transactionally, treating others as tools for personal gain rather than as human beings.
• The study, conducted by researchers at Renmin University of China, involved three investigations demonstrating that relative deprivation fosters a transactional mindset, which mediates the objectification of others in social interactions.
• Experimental manipulation showed that individuals experiencing high relative deprivation prioritize instrumental traits in potential friends over interpersonal warmth, confirming a causal link between deprivation and transactional relationship orientations.
• The findings highlight that feelings of relative disadvantage can damage social bonds by promoting cost-benefit calculations in relationships, although the research is limited by its reliance on hypothetical scenarios, self-reports, and a culturally homogenous sample.
• Future research directions include exploring interventions to strengthen communal bonds and examining the persistence of transactional mindsets after improvements in social standing.