Envy Across Adulthood: The What and the Who

Two studies assessed envy across adulthood. Study 1 (n = 987) examined subjects’ experiences of feeling envy. Study 2 (n = 843) examined being the target of another's envy. Envy primarily occurred between same-gender and similarly aged others. Fewer older adults reported envy incidents. Envy was reported in both distant and close relationships. Both studies found that the likelihood of envying certain domains shifted across the life span: scholastic success, social success, looks, and romantic success were less envied with age, whereas money was more envied with age. Envy in some domains (luck, overall better life) was fairly consistent across the life span.