Short-lived online social network experiments show that making the in-game wealth of immediate neighbors invisible improves the subjective wellbeing (SWB) of poorer participants. This status invisibility reduced the strength of the positive association between in-game wealth and SWB in social networks. However, in real-world settings, status is often visible.
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This is a summary of: Nishi, A. et al. Status invisibility alleviates the economic gradient in happiness in social network experiments. Nat. Mental Health https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-023-00159-0 (2023).
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The role of status invisibility in mental health and happiness. Nat. Mental Health 1, 928–929 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-023-00181-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-023-00181-2
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