The term "experiential comparison" is a valid phrase and can be used in written English. It refers to comparing things based on personal experiences rather than facts or data. Example: In her article, the author utilizes an experiential comparison to show how living in a big city differs from living in a small town.
The aim of our qualitative study was to explore whether any of the mechanisms underlying the benefits of peer support in the management of chronic illness (experiential knowledge, social comparison, social support, and the helper therapy principle), emerged in the interactions between the participants and their peer supporters.
Taken together, the results of the assessments for learning outcomes and authentic intellectual performance help to inform the relative effectiveness of puzzle-based pedagogies as a tool for "open" or "experiential" learning theories in comparison with more didactic theories, the primary vehicle of which is a traditional lecture based pedagogy [ 8].
Equivalent comparison in the experiential condition was not significant (t = 1.48, p = .17).17
These were: advice grounded in experiential knowledge, social support, social comparison, and helper therapy (shown in Figure 1).
Four theoretical mechanisms have been proposed to underpin effective peer support: advice grounded in experiential knowledge, social support, social comparison and the helper therapy principle.
Experiential knowledge, social support, social comparison and helper therapy were apparent, even within a clinical population for whom relationship difficulties are common.
Rich examples of experiential knowledge, social support, social comparison and helper therapy were found in the interchange, despite the reported interpersonal difficulties associated with bipolar disorder.
These findings indicate that even with a clinical condition that is associated with interpersonal difficulties, benefits associated with experiential knowledge, social support, social comparison and helper therapy can be found.
To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine whether these four mechanisms (namely, experiential knowledge, social support, social comparison and helper therapy) were present in a sample of individuals with bipolar disorder.
Although we initially sampled from public and private hospitals, assuming patients would be either 'private' or 'public' patients, we found that most participants had experiences of both settings, either as patients or carers, and could thus make comparisons based on experiential knowledge rather than conjecture.
