Methuselah and Company: A Case of Male Envy of Female Longevity

The Bible says that Methuselah, a direct descendent of Seth, the third born son of Adam and Eve, lived to the ripe old age of 969 years. On the assumption that this is a gross exaggeration, we asked ourselves why the writer (or writers) of the book of Genesis felt a need to exaggerate his age? On the basis of evidence that women live longer than men because they bear children and engage in maternal activities toward their offspring, we argue that the exaggerated ages of men in the Bible are a case of male envy of women because women have a longer life expectancy than men do. We suggest that this is an issue that is no less relevant to gender relations today. We propose that one way that men may deal with their envy of women is to assume the role of the “good-enough mother,” and that if this does not have the desired results, there is always humor.     

嫉妒与幸福感因果机制：基于追踪和日记法研究

追求幸福是人类永恒的主题。尽管影响幸福的因素很多, 但社会比较是影响个体幸福感最普遍的因素。基于社会比较理论视角, 分别采用纵向追踪研究和日记法研究探讨了向上社会比较中典型情绪——嫉妒与幸福感的因果关系机制, 并首次尝试建立了嫉妒与一般主观幸福感(SWB, Subject Well-being)因子的循环假设理论模型。在研究1中, 对290名参与者进行间隔1年的两次(T1和T2)追踪调查, 探讨特质嫉妒与主观幸福感双因子模型之间的关系。研究结果显示：(1) T1的特质嫉妒可以显著正向预测T2的消极情感(NA, Negative Affect)和SWB因子, 显著负向预测T2的积极情感(PA, Positive Affect)和生活满意度(LS, Life Satisfaction); (2) T1的一般SWB因子负向预测T2的特质嫉妒。在研究2中, 进一步采用日记法对178名参与者进行了持续14天的研究, 结果发现每日嫉妒仅能正向预测主观幸福感双因子中的NA。首次基于社会比较的理论视角, 采用多方法学视角深入揭示了嫉妒与主观幸福感的PA、NA和LS之间的复杂因果关系机制, 弥补了学术界在相关领域的不足。更重要的是, 还首次自主提出了嫉妒与一般SWB因子的循环假设理论模型, 对从社会比较理论视角去拓展、理解、重评SWB的社会基础提供了较新的思路。     

组织行为学领域妒忌研究的不同视角、分歧和未来方向

妒忌他人是生活和工作中一种普遍的现象, 虽然宗教学、哲学和历史典籍等领域很久以前就有诸多有关妒忌的记录, 但是, 直到近来妒忌才引起组织行为学研究者的关注。尽管以往多学科和多视角的研究加深了研究者对妒忌的理解, 然而, 在组织行为学领域深入研究妒忌仍面临诸多挑战。为澄清妒忌研究中的挑战、明确分歧、推进妒忌研究, 首先从妒忌特有视角、妒忌分类视角和妒忌整体视角对妒忌研究进行总结分析, 然后重点从妒忌的性质、应对妒忌的策略、解释矛盾结论三方面分析以往三种妒忌研究视角之间的分歧。在此基础上, 建议未来研究可以进一步厘清妒忌内涵和测量、深入研究妒忌者和被妒忌者之间的二元关系、整合不同视角的妒忌研究。     

When envy leads to schadenfreude

Previous research has yielded inconsistent findings concerning the relationship between envy and schadenfreude. Three studies examined whether the distinction between benign and malicious envy can resolve this inconsistency. We found that malicious envy is related to schadenfreude, while benign envy is not. This result held both in the Netherlands where benign and malicious envy are indicated by separate words (Study 1: Sample A, N = 139; Sample B, N = 150), and in the USA where a single word is used to denote both types (Study 2, N = 180; Study 3, N = 349). Moreover, the effect of malicious envy on schadenfreude was independent of other antecedents of schadenfreude (such as feelings of inferiority, disliking the target person, anger, and perceived deservedness). These findings improve our understanding of the antecedents of schadenfreude and help reconcile seemingly contradictory findings on the relationship between envy and schadenfreude.     

社交网站使用与妒忌:向上社会比较的中介作用及自尊的调节作用

采用方便抽样法对630名具有社交网站使用经验的大学生进行问卷调查,探讨社交网站使用对妒忌的影响,以及向上社会比较、自尊在其中的作用机制。结果表明:(1)社交网站使用显著正向预测妒忌;(2)向上社会比较在社交网站使用与妒忌之间起部分中介作用;(3)该中介效应受到自尊的调节。具体来说,相对于高自尊大学生,低自尊大学生的向上社会比较产生更多妒忌。     

不同社交网站使用与大学生抑郁的关系:链式中介模型

为探讨不同社交网站使用（微信和微博）和大学生抑郁的关系以及上行社会比较和妒忌在其中的链式中介作用,采用问卷法对481名大学生进行施测。结果发现：（1）微信对大学生抑郁的总效应不显著,而微博对大学生抑郁的总效应显著,即微博使用越多,抑郁越多;（2）微信使用既可以直接负向预测抑郁,也可以通过上行社会比较和妒忌的链式中介作用间接地正向预测抑郁;而微博使用不能直接预测抑郁,其效应完全由上行社会比较和妒忌所链式中介。研究提示,微信使用和微博使用与大学生抑郁的关系及其机制是不同的,微信比微博有更复杂的作用机制和多种效应。     

Arbitrary social comparison,malicious envy,and generosity

Existing work on the effects of social comparison on envy and generosity typically involves manipulation of social comparison with respect to dimensions that carry personal meaning and reflect upon the self, for example, performance, ability, or achievement. In the current work, we examine the effects of social comparison based on a purely arbitrary, manipulated situation. We measure malicious envy via monetary decisions that have real consequences for the target of comparison, in place of a self-reported questionnaire. In addition, we test the effects of the preliminary social comparison on generosity in a subsequent and ostensibly unrelated situation. In Experiment 1 we demonstrate the effect of randomly manipulated upward social comparison on a monetary allocation decision, and we establish the link between this allocation decision and malicious envy. In Experiment 2 we show that upward comparison affects not only malicious envy towards the target of the comparison but also decreases generosity towards a third party in a subsequent, ostensibly unrelated situation. Experiment 3 shows the effect of this type of social comparison, beyond a specific direction, on reducing generosity towards a third party.