When health matters, status doesn't

People become much less concerned about being better off than other people when health enters the picture, according to new research.

The study found that people often compare themselves with others when making status decisions such as money, education or social standing. But when choices involve health, they are much more likely to focus on what gives them the best personal outcome instead.

For example, a pay rise can feel disappointing if everyone else gets a bigger one, even though you are objectively better off. But the same is not true in matters of health. Considerations around social status diminish.

Researchers from the School of Management, Angers, France, and the University of East London carried out two experiments involving almost 400 people in France.

Participants were presented with a series of hypothetical choices in which they could either maximise their own outcome or choose an option that left them better off than other people, even if it meant sacrificing some personal benefit.

In non-health situations, many participants preferred to come out ahead of others. But that changed once health information was introduced. Decisions involving life expectancy, surgery waiting times and health insurance shifted people away from social comparison and status and towards choosing what was best for themselves.

Influence key decisions

The researchers say the findings could help policymakers and healthcare organisations communicate more effectively by understanding which types of health information have the greatest influence on decision making.

Co-author Professor Kirk Chang, from the Royal Docks School of Business and Law at the University of East London, said:

“People naturally compare themselves with others in many areas of life. Our research found that this changes when health information becomes part of the decision.

“Instead of asking, 'Am I better off than everyone else?', people become much more focused on what gives them the best outcome personally because the stakes are higher and more significant. We found that this shift was strongest when the information involved life expectancy, surgery waiting times and health insurance.”

The study, published in the Review of Behavioral Economics, also found that not all health information has the same effect. Information about life expectancy, surgery waiting times and health insurance had the strongest influence on decision making.