Contrast in judgments of mental health

The present study examined contrast in judgments of mental health. Subjects rated word/definition pairs on a 0 (Low) to 100 (High) mental health scale. We first established some pairs as exhibiting Low, Moderate, or High mental health. In Experiment 1, subjects who first saw High words rated Moderate words lower than subjects who first saw Moderate words. Thus, contrast occurred for Moderate words. Experiment 2 used Low (rather than High) and Moderate words but found no contrast. The results echoed previous research on contrast and mental health. Contrast was induced for the Moderate words in the Moderate/Healthy condition: Moderate words were moved away from their baseline ratings. Contrast did not occur in the Moderate/Low condition: Moderate words were not moved away from their baseline ratings. In neither case did the Moderate words induce changes in the ratings of the extreme words.