Reference Groups and Relative Effects on Well-Being

Economic growth may not improve society if people compare their achievements to others in relative ways that detract from well-being. But who are these others and what economic dimensions matter? This research applied a p-value ranking approach from genetics research to tackle the issue of reference group selection. Data from over 30,000 British and American adults were analyzed in nearly 800 multi-level models. Over 300 measures of reference group socio-economic status and eight measures of well-being were used. The results showed that reference groups based on geography and age, perceptions of those in "society," and rank wealth were most consistently associated with well-being. Measures less consistently associated with well-being used averages, medians, and proportions in states and local authorities without demographic sub-groups. Future researchers should consider the consistently associated dimensions of reference groups when constructing relative measures.