This article is an excerpt from the Shortform summary of "David and Goliath" by Malcolm Gladwell. Shortform has the world's best summaries of books you should be reading.
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What is the relative deprivation theory? How does it affect the choices I make, in school, at work, and in life in general?
The relative deprivation theory is a theory that says we compare ourselves to the people around us. Our feelings of happiness or deprivation, success or failure, are not absolute, but rather relative to how happy and successful our neighbors are.
Learn why it’s critical to understand the relative deprivation theory when making decisions and assessing your successes and failures.
The Relative Deprivation Theory
We compare ourselves to others. Our feelings of happiness or deprivation, success or failure, are not absolute, but rather relative to how happy and successful our neighbors are. This is the relative deprivation theory.
Countries in which citizens consider themselves the happiest (Switzerland, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Canada) have a higher suicide rate than countries in which citizens consider themselves generally unhappy or neutral. If you’re depressed in a place where everyone around you seems happy, you feel worse. However, if you’re depressed in a place where everyone around you also seems a little depressed, you feel normal and things aren’t so bad. According to the relative deprivation theory, we evaluate almost all aspects of life based on these same aspects in the lives of others.
In education, we call this the “Big Fish-Little Pond Effect.” When assessing their own academic abilities, students don’t compare themselves to every other student in the world. They compare themselves to the students in their class. The more elite the school, the more negatively students perceive their own academic abilities.
The Consequences of the Relative Deprivation Theory
Why does how we view our abilities matter?
Our perceptions have real-world consequences. Let’s take a look at the drop-out rates at Hartwick College and Harvard to see the “Big Fish-Little Pond Effect” influences graduation rates in STEM fields.
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- Why being the underdog can actually be an advantage
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