Schadenfreude in the context of opposing vaccination statuses

Abstract

Schadenfreude (experiencing pleasure at others’ misfortune) has been found in a variety of contexts and setting. We sought to determine if it occurred in relation to COVID‐19 vaccination status given the ingroup–outgroup nature of this factor. In three experimental studies, we asked participants to read about a pro‐ or anti‐vaccine physician who reportedly died from COVID‐19 complications. In Study 1 (N = 83 US emerging adults [39.8% male]) fully vaccinated participants experienced more Schadenfreude after reading the story about an unvaccinated (vs. vaccinated) physician. In Study 2 (N = 393 US adults [37.5% male]) we sampled vaccinated and unvaccinated participants who read about the death of a vaccinated or unvaccinated doctor, and results showed higher Schadenfreude when the participants’ vaccination status (e.g., vaccinated) was opposite of the hypothetical physician's (e.g., unvaccinated). Finally, results from Study 3 (N = 797 US adults [49.5% male]), which used a similar procedure to the previous study, replicated Study 2 and also showed that group identification with and perceived morality of the physician mediated the relationship between vaccination status and Schadenfreude.