Preprint - Elucidating the dark side of envy: Distinctive links of benign and malicious envy with dark personalities

Abstract

Researchers have recently drawn a contrast between two forms of envy: benign and malicious envy. In three studies (total N = 3,123), we challenge the assumption that malicious envy is destructive, whereas benign envy is entirely constructive. Instead, both forms have links with the Dark Triad of personality. Benign envy is associated with Machiavellian behaviors, whereas malicious envy is associated with both Machiavellian and psychopathic behaviors. In Study 1, this pattern emerged in meta-analyzed trait correlations. In Study 2, a manipulation affecting the envy forms mediated an effect on antisocial behavioral intentions. Study 3 replicated these patterns by linking envy to specific antisocial behaviors and their impact on status in the workplace. Together, our correlational and experimental results suggest that the two forms of envy can both be malevolent. Instead of evaluating envy's morality, we propose to focus on its functional value.Keywords: envy; benign and malicious envy; Machiavellianism; psychopathy; status ENVY AND THE DARK TRIAD 3 Elucidating the Dark Side of Envy: Distinctive Links of Benign and Malicious Envy with Dark PersonalitiesEnvy is commonly characterized as a hostile emotion with mostly negative consequences for the envier and the envied person (for a review, see Smith & Kim, 2007).Envy prompts deception (Moran & Schweitzer, 2008), dampens cooperation (Parks, Rumble, & Posey, 2002), and fosters schadenfreude when others fail (Smith et al., 1996). Although this characterization portrays envy as a maladaptive emotion, recent theorizing and evidence emphasize that envy can also manifest in a benign form directed at personal advancement (Van de Ven et al., 2009). One proposed interpretation of this distinction is that envy's malicious form represents envy's dark side, whereas its benign manifestation is largely constructive (Cohen-Charash & Larson, 2017;Tai, Narayanan, & McAllister, 2012).We believe that this simplistic moral conclusion is unwarranted. Instead, we argue that envy is neither constructive nor destructive but can, first and foremost, be a functional emotion. If this reasoning is correct, any form of envy may relate to antisocial consequences that nevertheless serve envy's goals. The objective of the present manuscript is to systematically investigate the dark sides of envy by establishing its distinctive links with the personality traits known as the Dark Triad (Paulhus, 2014). EnvyEnvy has been defined as a painful emotion ensuing from the envier's lack of another's quality, achievement, or possession (Lange, Weidman, & Crusius, in press; Parrott & Smith, 1993). Undoubtedly, it is a common experience (Smith & Kim, 2007) that can even be a dispositional inclination (Lange, Blatz, & Crusius, in press). Evidence suggests that envy entails various affective, cognitive, and motivational tendencies (Parrott & Smith, 1993). A growing body of research converges on the notion that these tendencies lead to consequences that contribute to the regulation of status hierarchies...