When envy leads to schadenfreude |
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| Authors: | Niels van de Ven Charles E. Hoogland Richard H. Smith Wilco W. van Dijk Seger M. Breugelmans Marcel Zeelenberg |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Social Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The NetherlandsN.v.d.Ven@tilburguniversity.edu;3. Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA;4. Department of Social and Organisational Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands;5. Department of Social Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands;6. Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia |
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| Abstract: | 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. |
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| Keywords: | Envy Malicious envy Benign envy Schadenfreude Social comparison Deservedness |
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