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

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.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Krasko ◽  
Sabrina Intelisano ◽  
Maike Luhmann

People differ in how they define and pursue happiness and well-being (HWB). We introduce the concept of complexity of HWB definitions to describe how many HWB definitions people endorse simultaneously, and the concept balance of HWB-related intentions to describe how many unique facets of HWB people intend to pursue in everyday life. To operationalize these novel concepts, we developed the DIDI scales in two independent studies (total N = 542), which are two parallel measures to assess HWB definitions and their complexity and HWB-related intentions and their balance. Integrating psychological and philosophical definitions of HWB, we created and tested an item pool using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Eight reliable and valid factors can be distinguished for both parallel scales: absence of negativity, positive attitude, tranquility, personal development, luck, joy and desires, purpose, and belonging. The investigated constructs were positively associated with well-being. HWB-related intentions and their balance emerged as more important for the experience of well-being than HWB definitions and their complexity. The DIDI scales include HWB definitions that have previously not been included in similar scales, despite being important for lay people (e.g., tranquility, luck) and thereby allow a nuanced investigation of lay people’s approaches to HWB. These studies highlight the importance of a multifaceted definition and pursuit of HWB for the actual levels of well-being.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
Maciej Karwowski ◽  
Bogusław Milerski

This investigation is based on eight extensive empirical studies (total N = 12,294) supplemented by automated analysis of online data, to examine attitudes toward educational reforms introduced in Poland in 2017. We explore the attitudes within groups categorized as actors (people directly affected by the reform, namely students and parents) and observers (the general population). The Attitudes Toward Educational Reform Scale (ATERS) was developed and validated. ATERS psychometric properties were examined using item response theory and confirmatory factor analyses, while the differences between groups were summarized meta-analytically. Consistently with expectations, we observed that the overall attitude toward the reform was negative, and the strength of this negative attitude increased along with being more directly affected by the changes introduced by it. While the general population held a relatively neutral attitude toward the reform, the attitude was clearly negative among parents and students. We discuss reasons and consequences of these findings.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 348-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hila Segal ◽  
Ariel Knafo-Noam

Abstract. Twins’ relationships evoke critical dilemmas for parents and teachers regarding raising and educating their twins. The current study provides comprehensive psychometric information about the Twin Relationship Questionnaire (TRQ; Fortuna, Goldner, & Knafo, 2010 ) as examined in nine samples, using mothers’ and fathers’ reports on 1,560 pairs of twins, tested in five measurement points from age 3 to age 9. On half of the subsamples, we conducted principal component analyses (PCA), whereas on the other subsamples, we conducted confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). Five factors were found in the PCA and confirmed by the CFA: conflict, closeness, dependence, dominance, and rivalry. All scales showed adequate internal consistencies and corrected item-total correlations. Correlation matrixes between scales demonstrate a triad of conflict, rivalry, and dominance scales, as opposed to the dyad of closeness and dependence. As evidence for the TRQ’s reliability and validity, we report the degree of agreement between mothers and fathers, the 10-month stability of mothers’ reports, and the associations of the TRQ subscales with experimentally assessed prosocial behaviors between the twins at age 6.5, and with the twins’ reports on their closeness at age 11. The replication of the findings across ages and raters reinforces the reliability and validity of the questionnaire.


2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhe Wang ◽  
Nan Chen ◽  
Stephen A. Petrill ◽  
Kirby Deater–Deckard

We examined broad dimensions of children's personalities (total n = 1056; age = 3.5 to 12 years) based on observers’ perceptions following a few hours of structured interaction. Siblings’ behaviours during a 2–hour cognitive assessment in the home were rated separately by two different observers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses clearly revealed a two–factor solution in three different samples. There was correspondence between parent–rated temperament and observer–rated factors. Cross–sectional analyses indicated lower Plasticity among older children and higher Stability among older children. Sex differences were negligible. Plasticity and Stability were correlated in the .2 to .3 range. Most of the sibling similarity in the Plasticity was due to additive genetic influences, whereas most sibling similarity in Stability was attributable to shared environmental influences. The findings implicate a biometric factor structure to childhood personality that fits well with emerging biosocial theories of personality development. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Iliceto ◽  
Emanuele Fino

The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) is an instrument for assessing cognitive thoughts among suicidal persons. Previous studies have identified different factor structures of the BHS. However, results were not conclusive. The aim of this study was to test the factor structure of the BHS in a sample of Italian individuals (N = 509) from the community, and secondarily to investigate correlations between the BHS, depression (Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition), and personality traits (Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire). Following recommendations of previous investigations, we utilized a 5-point response format. We applied a second-order Confirmatory Factor Analyses and tested for the model invariance. The results suggest that besides a single second-order factor, a second-order three-factor solution is also reasonable, in line with Beck’s theorization.


2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Volkmar Höfling ◽  
Helfried Moosbrugger ◽  
Karin Schermelleh-Engel ◽  
Thomas Heidenreich

The 15 items of the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS; Brown & Ryan, 2003 ) are negatively worded and assumed to assess mindfulness. However, there are indications of differences between the original MAAS and a version with the positively rephrased MAAS items (“mirror items”). The present study examines whether the mindfulness facet “mindful attention and awareness” (MAA) can be measured with both positively and negatively worded items if we take method effects due to item wording into account. To this end, the 15 negatively worded items of the MAAS and additionally 13 positively rephrased items were assessed (N = 602). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) models with and without regard to method effects were carried out and evaluated by means of model fit. As a result, the positively and negatively worded items should be seen as different methods that influence the construct validity of mindfulness. Furthermore, a modified version of the MAAS (MAAS-Short) with five negatively worded items (taken from the MAAS) and five positively worded items (“mirror items”) was introduced as an alternative to assess MAA. The MAAS-Short appears superior to the original MAAS. The results and the limitations of the present study are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 771-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Piskernik ◽  
Barbara Supper ◽  
Lieselotte Ahnert

Abstract. While parenting research continues to compare similarities and differences in mothers’ and fathers’ behaviors based on mean values on the respective dimensions, measurement invariance as a prerequisite for these comparisons has seldom been assured. The present study thus subjected the well-known Parenting Stress Index (PSI), widely used in models of family functioning, to a rigorous measurement invariance analysis based on ( N = 214) Austrian couples with children younger than 3 years of age. We evaluated configural, metric, scalar, and uniqueness invariance on item and subscale levels, and tested for structural invariance of means and variances of the PSI parent and child domain by second-order confirmatory factor analyses. As a result, only measurement differences on the scalar levels affected the factor scores, though negligibly. On the structural levels, no differences were found on the PSI child domain across parents, but on the PSI parent domain, mothers reported more stress.


2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinne Catale ◽  
Caroline Lejeune ◽  
Sarah Merbah ◽  
Thierry Meulemans

Thorell and Nyberg (2008 ) recently developed the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (CHEXI), a new rating instrument for executive functioning in day-to-day life which can be divided into four subscales: working memory, planning, inhibition, and regulation. Using an exploratory factor analysis on data from young Swedish children attending kindergarten, Thorell and Nyberg (2008 ) found a two-factor solution that taps working memory and inhibition. In the present study, we explored the psychometric characteristics of the French adaptation of the CHEXI. A group of 95 parents of 5- and 6-year-old children completed the CHEXI, 87 of whom were given clinical inhibition and working memory tasks. Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the two-factor solution based on inhibition and working memory that was identified in the original study of Swedish children. Supplementary results indicated good internal and test-retest reliability for the entire scale, as well as for the two subscales identified. Correlation analyses showed no relationship between cognitive measures and the CHEXI subscales. Possible clinical applications for the CHEXI scales are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 564-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Ringeisen ◽  
Sonja Rohrmann ◽  
Anika Bürgermeister ◽  
Ana N. Tibubos

Abstract. By means of two studies, a self-report measure to assess self-efficacy in presentation and moderation skills, the SEPM scales, was validated. In study 1, factorial and construct validity were examined. A sample of 744 university students (41% females; more than 50% between 20 and 25 years) completed newly constructed self-efficacy items. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) substantiated two positively correlated factors, presentation (SEPM-P) and moderation self-efficacy (SEPM-M). Each factor consists of eight items. The correlation patterns between the two SEPM subscales and related constructs such as extraversion, the preference for cooperative learning, and conflict management indicated adequate construct validity. In study 2, criterion validity was determined by means of latent change modeling. One hundred sixty students ( Mage = 24.40, SD = 4.04; 61% females) took part in a university course to foster key competences and completed the SEPM scales at the beginning and the end of the semester. Presentation and moderation self-efficacy increased significantly over time of which the latter was positively associated with the performance in a practical moderation exam. Across both studies, reliability of the scales was high, ranging from McDonald’s ω .80 to .88.


2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 141-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyunyi Cho ◽  
Kari Wilson ◽  
Jounghwa Choi

This study investigated whether and how dimensions of perceived realism of television medical dramas are linked to perceptions of physicians. The three dimensions of perceived realism were considered: plausibility, typicality, and narrative consistency. Data from a survey of college students were examined with confirmatory factor analyses and hierarchical regression analyses. Across the three dramas (ER, Grey’s Anatomy, and House), narrative consistency predicted positive perceptions about physicians. Perceived plausibility and typicality of the medical dramas showed no significant association with perceptions about physicians. These results illustrate the importance of distinguishing different dimensions of perceived realism and the importance of narrative consistency in influencing social beliefs.


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