Social comparison modulates acute responses to traumatic footage and the development of intrusive memories

The psychosocial environment is pivotal for the adjustment to traumatic experiences, yet the role of social cognition in the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains obscure. We theorize that comparison with other trauma survivors reporting high or low levels of stress-related symptomatology might attenuate or amplify the development of PTSD, depending on perceived similarities with the standard. 90 healthy participants viewed traumatic footage and read ostensible testimonials from a fellow participant from a similar background, reporting high levels of PTSD symptoms (i.e. a similar-vulnerable social comparator), low distress (similar-resilient) or by a demographically dissimilar person reporting low distress (different-resilient). A separate no-comparison group (n = 30) served to gauge the presence of assimilative responding. Relative to similar-vulnerable comparison, a similar-resilient comparator tended to attenuate acute negative affect, but this did not translate to a similar effect on seven-day intrusive memories. Here, the similar-vulnerable group tended to report fewer intrusive memories compared to control, indicating a contrastive response. Taken together, we provide preliminary evidence that social comparison modulates the adjustment to adversity, whereby acute affect and intrusion development may be influenced differentially.