Cognitive processes linked to the perception about quality of life: The effect of comparison in the adult population Procesos cognitivos vinculados al autoreporte de la calidad de Vida: El efecto de la comparación en población adulta

Abstract

© Interciencia 2011. As a measure of the individual perception of well-being and satisfaction in various areas of life, the evaluation of the quality of life has become a relevant issue, as it is considered a relevant indicator of success for intervention plans and public policies. However, its subjective nature involves the complexity of discerning how these perceptions are formed. Festinger's concept of social comparison is a valuable starting point to understand that the perception of quality of life depends upon comparison between the individual situation and the subjective norms attached to the individual's culture and system of values. Nonetheless, to comprehend the intra and inter subjects' variations of such perceptions is an even more complex issue. One of the most complete theories about this phenomenon, that of Michalos, proposes comparison standards that integrate contextual and temporal aspects related to the evaluated individual. The present research applies Michalos' per