It seems they may filter or distort the results or the comparisons to get the final positive results they desire. This is also extremely interesting, and would seem to be a good candidate for further study. Do people with high self-esteem ignore negative comparisons in order to maintain their levels of self-esteem? The results of a more comprehensive study into this phenomenon would prove to be interesting reading, it seems.

Another interesting finding is the results of threats on downward comparisons. It seems that threat may actually create more downward comparisons in other areas. These comparisons actually add to the threatening feelings, rather than reduce them. In this, the results seem much like that of depression, which has been termed by some to be like a "vicious whirlpool," sucking in everything around it and creating negative results out of almost all experiences. The depressed mind becomes skewed, and sees everything...
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