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

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Lange ◽  
Delroy L Paulhus ◽  
Jan Crusius
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Intentions ◽  
Dark Triad ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Antisocial Behaviors ◽  
Total N ◽  
Functional Value ◽  
Malicious Envy ◽  
Benign Envy ◽  
Trait Correlations

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.

scholarly journals Elucidating the Dark Side of Envy: Distinctive Links of Benign and Malicious Envy With Dark Personalities

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 601-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Lange ◽  
Delroy L. Paulhus ◽  
Jan Crusius
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Intentions ◽  
Dark Triad ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Antisocial Behaviors ◽  
Total N ◽  
Functional Value ◽  
Malicious Envy ◽  
Benign Envy ◽  
Trait Correlations

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 from 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.

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

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Lange ◽  
Aaron C. Weidman ◽  
Jan Crusius
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
The Other ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Total N ◽  
Comprehensive Theory ◽  
Malicious Envy ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Benign Envy ◽  
Data Driven Approach

Despite envy’s importance as a driver of social behavior, scholars disagree on its conceptualization. We review the literature and distinguish three incongruent theories: (a) Malicious Envy Theory (i.e., envy as uniform and malicious), (b) Dual Envy Theory (i.e., envy as taking on two forms, benign and malicious), and (c) Pain Theory of Envy (i.e., envy as uniform and driven by pain). Moreover, within and across theories, operationalizations of envy have included various different components. We integrate these conceptualizations using a data-driven approach, deriving a comprehensive theory of envy in five studies (total N = 1,237)—the Pain-driven Dual Envy (PaDE) Theory. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of an exhaustive set of envy components (Studies 1-4) suggest that envy consists of three factors: Pain (i.e., preoccupation with the envy-eliciting situation, inferiority), predicts both benign envy (i.e., desire for the envy object, improvement motivation, emulation of the other), and malicious envy (i.e., communication about the other, directed aggression, nondirected aggression). An experience-sampling study (Study 5) suggests that pain constitutes a quickly fading reaction, whereas benign and malicious envy are enduring attitudinal constructs. We apply this theory in a meta-analysis on the controversial relation of envy and schadenfreude (N = 4,366), finding that envy and schadenfreude are more strongly and positively correlated to the extent that the respective research operationalizes envy as malicious, compared to as pain or benign envy. We discuss how the PaDE Theory can illuminate research on envy in diverse settings, and envy’s relation to other distinct emotions.

scholarly journals "You're just envious": Inferring benign and malicious envy from facial expressions and contextual information

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Lange ◽  
Agneta Fischer ◽  
Gerben van Kleef
Keyword(s):  
Social Perception ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Contextual Cues ◽  
Head Turning ◽  
Social Hierarchies ◽  
Total N ◽  
Malicious Envy ◽  
The Social ◽  
Benign Envy ◽  
Independent Effects

Envy shapes social hierarchies. To protect their rank, envied persons react to the threat posed by enviers. Doing so requires that envied persons initially perceive who envies them. However, a common perspective is that envy lacks a unique expression and that enviers disguise their experience, preventing the social perception of envy. In contrast to this perspective, recent evidence indicates that observers perceive benign and malicious forms of envy accurately when they can integrate information about targets. These findings suggest that observers infer envy based on multiple, contextual cues. We hypothesized that observers infer envy from facial and bodily expressions in comparison situations. Specifically, observers should infer benign envy when a target, who encounters an advantaged person, turns with disappointment toward the advantage. Conversely, observers should infer malicious envy when the target turns with anger toward the advantaged person. Three preregistered studies tested these hypotheses (total N = 693). In Studies 1 and 2, targets turned with an emotional or neutral expression either toward a person silhouette or a valuable object, and participants rated targets’ envy. In Study 3, participants performed the same task with more realistic stimuli. Across studies, emotional display and head turning had independent effects on inferences of benign and malicious envy. Furthermore, observers inferred envy more when the target expressed an emotion instead of remaining neutral. We discuss how the results inform research on the social perception of envy.

scholarly journals How Envy and Being Envied Shape Social Hierarchies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Lange ◽  
Jan Crusius
Keyword(s):  
Personal Control ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Hierarchies ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
Functional Value ◽  
Malicious Envy ◽  
Benign Envy ◽  
Broad Framework ◽  
Authentic Pride

When people interact with each other, they form social hierarchies. Being higher up in a hierarchy has numerous benefits. Consequently, when people believe that their rank is threatened, they should react strongly to address this threat. We propose that the emotion envy is such a reaction, regulating social hierarchies in two ways. First, persons’ socially-valued successes elicit envy in inferior persons. Second, inferior persons’ envy in turn elicits emotional reactions in successful persons. Envying and being envied thus occur in a dynamic relationship. We argue that the complexities of this dynamic can be unraveled by considering that (a) social hierarchies form in different ways, (b) emotions are multifaceted experiences whose facets are accentuated by relevant situations, and c) people may or may not overtly express these emotions. We review evidence for a broad framework that considers these points. According to this framework, persons can express their socially-valued successes with authentic or with hubristic pride. Authentic pride signals to others that the success is based on a prestige strategy. In response, inferior persons may perceive personal control to change their situation. This elicits benign envy, involving cognitions and motivations aimed at improving their position. If enviers express benign envy, envied persons are more likely to approach them. Hubristic pride instead signals that the success is based on a dominance strategy. In response, inferior persons may perceive superior persons’ advantages as undeserved. This elicits malicious envy, involving cognitions and motivations directed at harming the superior persons’ positions. If enviers express malicious envy, envied persons are more likely to avoid them. The framework integrates diverse empirical findings on the socially-functional value of envy in regulating social hierarchies and provides avenues for future research.

scholarly journals Our Vulnerable Dark Side—Two Laboratory Approaches

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 3941
Author(s):  
Lena Lämmle ◽  
Matthias Ziegler
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Study ◽  
Common Core ◽  
Reward Condition ◽  
Dark Triad ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Laboratory Studies ◽  
Ego Threat ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
The Stability

The Dark Triad of personality has been associated with aggression against others as a reaction to perceived provocations. However, previous work has also shown that such responsive aggression even occurs if it means harming oneself. The first of two laboratory studies aimed to investigate whether this relation between the Dark Triad and self-harming behavior also occurs in situations where no others are affected but self-harm is likely. The second laboratory study considered two different settings in a within-participants design in order to analyze the stability of self-harming behavior and to what extent the Dark Triad constructs influence this behavior. The sample for study 1 consisted of 151 students (45.7% female) with a mean age of 21.40 years (SD = 2.19); the sample for study 2 consisted of 251 students (76.0% female) with a mean age of 22.21 years (SD = 3.90). Aside from the Dark Triad’s common core, depending on how self-harm was triggered (ego-threat (mainly narcissism), being alone with one’s own thoughts (mainly psychopathy), or reward condition (mainly Machiavellianism)), the Dark Triad traits differed in their responsiveness but were stable over the last two conditions, thereby suggesting a vulnerable side of the Dark Triad.

scholarly journals Predicting career success: is the dark side of personality worth considering?

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 437-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominik Paleczek ◽  
Sabine Bergner ◽  
Robert Rybnicek
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Big Five ◽  
Career Success ◽  
Dark Triad ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Leadership Position ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Predicting Success ◽  
Competitive Behaviour

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to clarify whether the dark side of personality adds information beyond the bright side when predicting career success. Design/methodology/approach In total, 287 participants (150♀, Mage=37.74 and SDage=10.38) completed questionnaires on the Dark Triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy) and the Big Five (emotional stability, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness). They also provided information on their objective (salary and leadership position) and subjective (job satisfaction and satisfaction with income) career success. Regression analyses were used to estimate the Dark Triad’s incremental predictive value. Findings The results show that the Dark Triad only provides incremental information beyond the Big Five when predicting salary (ΔR2=0.02*) and leadership position (ΔR2=0.04*). In contrast, the Dark Triad does not explain unique variance when predicting job satisfaction or satisfaction with income. Research limitations/implications The exclusive use of self-rated success criteria may increase the risk of same-source biases. Thus, future studies should include ratings derived from multiple perspectives. Practical implications Considering the Dark Triad in employee selection and development seems particularly promising in the context of competitive behaviour. Social implications The results are discussed in light of the socioanalytic theory. This may help to better understand behaviour in organisational contexts. Originality/value This study is the first that simultaneously investigates all three traits of the Dark Triad and the Big Five in combination with objective and subjective career success. In addition, it extends previous findings by answering the question of whether the Dark Triad offers incremental or redundant information to the Big Five when predicting success.

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