Optimistic and pessimistic biases and comparative judgmental processes in Japan: Do people really compare themselves to their peers?

Studies on above‐average and unrealistic‐optimism effects have recently claimed that they are the consequence of an over‐utilization of self‐relevant and under‐utilization of peer‐relevant information, despite the assumption that people would refer to both themselves and their average peer to make a comparative judgment. However, there is a possibility that these tendencies are prevalent only in Western cultures. The present paper reports on...