The roles of outcome satisfaction and comparison alternatives in envy

Abstract

We examined the perception of envy using an approach patterned after Thibaut & Kelley's (1959) analysis of outcome evaluations. Subjects read scenarios about a hypothetical target person who had experienced an apparent setback. The target person was described as either satisfied or dissatisfied with this outcome by virtue of it either matching or falling short of expectations (comparison level). In addition, the target person was shown to have either enjoyed a recent success or to have suffered a recent failure in an alternative domain. Finally, the target person encountered a comparison person who had either suffered a similar setback or who had experienced a success in the same domain. Subjects rated how envious they would feel if, hypothetically, they were the target person depicted in the story. As predicted, subjects gave more intense ratings of envy in reaction to the advantaged comparison person when the target person was dissatisfied (outcomes below comparison level) compared to when the target person was satisfied (outcomes matching comparison level). Furthermore, subjects expressed more envy when the target person had experienced a failure in an alternative domain compared to when the target person had experienced a success in an alternative domain. Some theoretical implications of the results are discussed. No doubt there are few positions in life that do not throw together some persons who are there by virtue of failure and other persons who are there by virtue of success. In this sense, the dead are sorted but not segregated, and continue to walk among the living. (Goffman, 1952, p. 463)

Luck, envy and gratitude: It could have been different

“…Not only did the terms ''lucky'' and ''unlucky'' signalize potential envy, but recollected episodes of envy entailed others to be perceived as lucky, and oneself as unlucky (Study 3). It is generally acknowledged that envy means unfavourable comparison with others, particularly with respect to achievements or assets of high self-relevance (Smith et al, 1990;Tesser & Collins, 1988), and when the self/other gap is perceived as undeserved (Ben-Ze'ev, 1993). Results from Study 3 indicate an additional, potentially important factor, namely the perception of counterfactual closeness: It could have been me.…”

The painful duality of envy: Evidence for an integrative theory and a meta-analysis on the relation of envy and schadenfreude.

“…This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. (Caprariello, Cuddy, & Fiske, 2009;Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, 2007;Exline & Zell, 2012;Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002;Inoue, Hoogland, Takehashi, & Murata, 2015;Jordan, McAuliffe, & Rand, 2016;Kim & Glomb, 2014;Lieblich, 1971;Melwani, Mueller, & Overbeck, 2012;Nabi & Keblusek, 2014;Pedersen, Forster, & McCullough, 2014;Pedersen, Kurzban, & McCullough, 2013;Pila, Stamiris, Castonguay, & Sabiston, 2014;Rentzsch, Schröder-Abé, & Schütz, 2015;Sadler, Kaye, & Vaughn, 2015;Salovey & Rodin, 1984, 1991Schurtz et al, 2012;Smith, Diener, & Garonzik, 1990;…”

Distinguishing the experiences of envy and jealousy.

“…According to the traditional distinction, envy occurs when a person lacks another's superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it. It occurs when this shortcoming exists in a domain that is selfdefinitional (Salovey & Rodin, 1984), and it intensifies with self-dissatisfaction and when superiority in alternative comparison domains is lacking (R. H. Smith, Diener, & Garonzik, 1990). These circumstances do not produce a single, simple affect; rather, the experience of envy is best characterized as a constellation of several distinguishable affective elements that typically occur during episodes of envy.…”