“…Downward comparisonbeing better than others-often reduces anxiety, induces joyful feelings (e.g., schadenfreude) and satisfies the need for self-enhancement [Amoroso and Walters, 1969;Dohmen et al, 2011]. In contrast, upward comparison-being worse than others-often induces unpleasant feelings (e.g., envy), triggers threat to the self [Aoki et al, 2014;Bault et al, 2008;Dvash et al, 2010;Fiske, 2010;Takahashi et al, 2009], but also provides information for self-improvement [Tesser et al, 1988;Wood, 1989]. With a coordinate-based approach, this meta-analysis quantitatively examined brain areas consistently recruited by downward and upward comparisons based on previous functional brain imaging studies.…”