Imagine you had compliments laid out in order of rank:
you look nice
you look good
you look great
you look stunning
you look breathtaking
Now if you take someone who believes they deserve a (3) compliment and give them a 5, they may feel like they are being given a 2 compliment because it’s too over the top and there is a mismatch in expectation. However if you give a (1) they will take it evidence in favour of their belief but not exactly as much as they were hoping for.
This is complicated by cognitive dissonance.
Imagine you had compliments laid out in order of rank:
you look nice
you look good
you look great
you look stunning
you look breathtaking
Now if you take someone who believes they deserve a (3) compliment and give them a 5, they may feel like they are being given a 2 compliment because it’s too over the top and there is a mismatch in expectation. However if you give a (1) they will take it evidence in favour of their belief but not exactly as much as they were hoping for.