We're All Victims Here: Toward a Psychology of Revenge

When people are hurt or angered by another person they may try to restore equity to the relationship. Yet each party's perception of what is equitable may vary. Study 1 compared incidents of revenge from the revenge-seeker perspective (avengers) to those from the revenge-recipients' perspective. Study 2 compared avenger incidents to those from victims of interpersonal transgressions who did not seek revenge. Avengers portrayed the revenge as equitable, whereas recipients portrayed the revenge as excessive. Both avengers and recipients presented themselves as victims. In light of these findings, it is understandable why vendettas take place. Each seeks a fair and equitable solution, although what one party believes to be fair, the other party sees as excessive. The result, then, may be an escalating cycle of revenge, stemming from ongoing and spiraling attempts to restore equity.