Jealousy

Abstract

Jealousy is operationally defined as negatively valenced emotionality that is elicited in an individual who feels threatened by the possibility of losing a valued relationship to a third party. It is distinct from the sense of loss that is precipitated by events that do not involve an interloper. Because of the interloper's involvement, jealousy can entail social comparison, where an individual judges herself and evaluates her self‐worth in relation to the individual by whom she was supplanted. As emotionality where an individual's grief over loss can be compounded by pain that arises from social comparison, in addition to anger toward the beloved and/or the rival, jealousy is understood as a blend of several different emotions and as the source of substantial intra‐ and interpersonal turmoil.