Better for self or better than others, the secret of relative position in behavior

Purpose This study aims to understand the influence of relative position on behavior. The concept of relative position (aka positional concerns) has drawn academic attention recently, as it explains how individual perceptions and feelings are influenced by comparing themselves to others, rather than by absolute economic measures. However, prior studies claim that relative position is trivial in health behavior, but the reasons underlying such claim are unclear, hence leaving a glazing knowledge gap. Design To fulfill the gap above, the authors have designed and implemented two experiment studies, along with the institutional ethical guidelines. Study 1 (N1 = 220 French university students) analyzes whether relative position exists in the health context, and Study 2 (N1 = 164 French employees) investigates how health information regulates relative position in behavior. This study develops experimental scenarios for the purpose of data collection, in which participants respond to various conditions and provide their views by surveys. Findings Using SPSS v.27 and EXCEL for data analysis, research findings have advanced knowledge by clarifying how relative position exists in both health- and non-health context. Only three of the six types of health information are found to regulate relative position. These are: life expectancy, surgery waiting time and health insurance provision. Originality New research discoveries have brought valuable insights to the relative position literature, explicitly explaining why people become more rational by demonstrating better-for-self behavior, rather than better-than-others behavior. Findings have contained important implications on health behavioral analysis and helped develop intervention strategies.