Showing papers on "Schadenfreude published in 2015"

When envy leads to schadenfreude

Abstract: Previous research has yielded inconsistent findings concerning the relationship between envy and schadenfreude. Three studies examined whether the distinction between benign and malicious envy can resolve this inconsistency. We found that malicious envy is related to schadenfreude, while benign envy is not. This result held both in the Netherlands where benign and malicious envy are indicated by separate words (Study 1: Sample A, N = 139; Sample B, N = 150), and in the USA where a single word is used to denote both types (Study 2, N = 180; Study 3, N = 349). Moreover, the effect of malicious envy on schadenfreude was independent of other antecedents of schadenfreude (such as feelings of inferiority, disliking the target person, anger, and perceived deservedness). These findings improve our understanding of the antecedents of schadenfreude and help reconcile seemingly contradictory findings on the relationship between envy and schadenfreude.

Intergroup Schadenfreude: motivating participation in collective violence

Abstract: People who identify strongly with their social groups frequently experience pleasure when they observe threatening out-group members’ misfortunes: a phenomenon termed intergroup Schadenfreude. Though people are generally averse to harming others, they may learn to overcome this aversion via the consistent pairing of subjective pleasure with out-group pain, thereby lowering the barrier to participating in collective violence. In neuroimaging studies, intergroup Schadenfreude is associated with engagement of ventral striatum (VS), a brain region involved in reinforcement-learning. In these experiments, VS activity predicts increased harm and decreased help toward competitive out-group members. Experiencing this pleasure-pain association in intergroup contexts is particularly pernicious because it can generalize to people who are merely affiliated with a threatening out-group, but have done nothing to provoke harm.

The joy of pain and the pain of joy: In-group identification predicts schadenfreude and gluckschmerz following rival groups’ fortunes

Abstract: Four studies examined how in-group identification in the domain of sports is associated with schadenfreude in reaction to another group’s suffering or gluckschmerz in reaction to another group’s good fortune. Schadenfreude increased as a function of in-group identification when the outgroup was a rival team rather than a non-rival team in Study 1. Study 2 showed that those who experience schadenfreude at learning of an outgroup player’s injury will also tend to feel gluckschmerz when they learn of the player’s recovery. Studies 3 and 4 replicated and extended these findings for both schadenfreude and gluckschmerz, and showed that neither the degree of severity of an injury nor the level of physical pain associated with the injury moderated the link between identification and both schadenfreude and gluckschmerz. Mediation analyses indicated that perceived in-group gain or loss, deservedness, and dislike were prime mediators of links between in-group identification and both emotions.

The role of self-evaluation and envy in schadenfreude

Abstract: In this article we address why and when people feel schadenfreude (pleasure at the misfortunes of others) in both interpersonal and intergroup contexts. Using findings from our own research programmes we show that schadenfreude is intensified when people are chronically or momentarily threatened in their self-worth, whereas it is attenuated when their self-evaluation is boosted; that malicious envy, but not benign envy, intensifies pleasure at the misfortunes of others; that these emotional responses are manifested in intergroup contexts via the same mechanisms; and that mere stereotypes, in the absence of any interaction or overt competition, are sufficient to elicit schadenfreude via such mechanisms. Together, these findings suggest that self-evaluation and envy both play an important role in evoking schadenfreude; people feel pleasure at the misfortunes of others when these misfortunes provide them with social comparisons that enhance their feelings of self-worth or remove the basis for painful feeling...

Parsing (malicious) pleasures: schadenfreude and gloating at others' adversity

Abstract: We offer the first empirical comparison of the pleasure in seeing (i.e., schadenfreude) and in causing (i.e., gloating) others’ adversity. In Study 1, we asked participants to recall and report on an (individual or group) episode of pleasure that conformed to our formal definition of schadenfreude, gloating, pride, or joy, without reference to an emotion word. Schadenfreude and gloating were distinct in the situational features of the episode, participants’ appraisals of it, and their expressions of pleasure (e.g., smiling, boasting). In Study 2, we had participants imagine being in an (individual or group) emotion episode designed to fit our conceptualization of schadenfreude or gloating. Individual and group versions of the emotions did not differ much in either study. However, the two pleasures differed greatly in their situational features, appraisals, experience, and expression. This parsing of the particular pleasures of schadenfreude and gloating brings nuance to the study of (malicious) pleasure, which tends to be less finely conceptualized and examined than displeasure despite its importance to social relations.

The face of schadenfreude: Differentiation of joy and schadenfreude by electromyography

Abstract: The present study investigated whether the facial expression of the social emotion schadenfreude, the pleasant emotion which arises in response to another's misfortune, can be differentiated from the facial expression of joy. Schadenfreude was induced by videos displaying unsuccessful penalty shots of Dutch soccer players and joy by successful penalty shots of German soccer players. Thirty-two participants watched videos while the activity of four facial muscles was recorded electromyographically. Furthermore, they judged each stimulus according to valence, arousal, joy, schadenfreude and sadness. Electromyography (EMG) results revealed that schadenfreude expressions did not differ from joy with regard to involved muscles (increase of Musculus zygomaticus major and M. orbicularis oculi activity, decrease of M. corrugator supercilii activity, no activity change of M. frontalis medialis). Furthermore, facial reactions developed fast in both conditions and EMG indicated stronger reactions in the schadenfreude condition, but according to ratings participants felt more pleasure in the joy condition.

Causes and Consequences of Schadenfreude and Sympathy: A Developmental Analysis.

Abstract: Moral judgments and moral emotions are a ubiquitous feature of social interactions. Humans decide quickly and intuitively whether an action is morally right or wrong. Schadenfreude and sympathy, as emotional reactions to the misfortunes of others, are prototypical moral emotions. So far, however, little evidence exists concerning children’s understanding of schadenfreude. Within three studies, we investigated the experience of schadenfreude and sympathy among N = 364 children of different age groups. We interviewed the children while showing them picture stories. In the picture stories, we varied the behavior of the protagonist prior to a misfortune: (1) whether his behavior had been morally right or wrong, (2) whether the protagonist attained his goal, (3) whether the protagonist was responsible for the misfortune. In addition, in one study we varied (4) the emotional relationship of the interviewed children to the protagonist. Furthermore, we asked the children to decide whether they want to sit next to the protagonist or do him a favor. Results show that children experience sympathy as well as schadenfreude at the age of 4 years. Sympathy is more likely to arise when the protagonists of a story are likable, when these actors typically pursue morally positive goals, and if they are not responsible for their misfortune. In contrast, schadenfreude is more likely when the protagonist is disliked, when actors pursue immoral goals and if they are responsible for their misfortune. In addition, sympathy increases approach (helping behavior, sitting next to the agent and doing favors), whereas schadenfreude increases avoidance tendencies.

The link between depression and schadenfreude: further evidence.

Abstract: This replication examined the link between schadenfreude (i.e., pleasure from another's misfortune), freudenfreude (i.e., pleasure from another's success), and self-rated depression. Using the Freudenfreude and Schadenfreude Test (FAST), moderately depressed students reported more schadenfreude and less freudenfreude than their mildly depressed peers. The limitations of this study and further research directions are discussed.

An Emotional-Freedom Defense of Schadenfreude

Abstract: Schadenfreude is the emotion we experience when we obtain pleasure from others’ misfortunes. Typically, we are not proud of it and admit experiencing it only sheepishly or apologetically. Philosophers typically view it, and the disposition to experience it, as moral failings. Two recent defenders of Schadenfreude, however, argue that it is morally permissible because it stems from judgments about the just deserts of those who suffer misfortunes. I also defend Schadenfreude, but on different grounds that overcome two deficiencies of those recent defenses. First, my defense accounts for the wide range of circumstances in which we experience Schadenfreude. Those circumstances often involve feelings and judgments that are less noble and admirable than judgments regarding just deserts. Second, it accounts for the sheepish or apologetic feelings that commonly accompany Schadenfreude. The two recent defenses can account for those feelings only by holding that they are mistaken or misguided. In opposition to those who view Schadenfreude as a moral failing, I argue that it is morally permissible unless it is part of a causal chain that produces an immoral act. The moral permissibility of the emotion is necessary in order for individuals to have the emotional freedom that, in turn, is necessary for their well-being. Schadenfreude’s moral status is similar to a sexual fetish’s. Like a fetish, experiencing Schadenfreude is not immoral in itself, but sharing and discussing it with others is immoral in many contexts.

Shameful Attachments / Attachments to Shame: Affective Unreliability and the Contemporary Moment

Abstract: .......................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iv Chapter

Seeing you fall vs taking you down: the roles of agency and liking in schadenfreude.

Abstract: People are more likely to experience schadenfreude, i.e., take pleasure in the misfortunes of another, if they do not like the person experiencing the downfall. In the current study, the roles of liking and agency (being the cause of the downfall vs a passive observer) were investigated using a live (rather than hypothetical) situation for participants to react to. Participants were exposed to a rude, neutral, or nice confederate who won a coveted prize. Participants were then put into a position to either cause the confederate to lose her prize, or to only passively observe it happen. Feelings of schadenfreude were strongest when participants were the agent of a rude other's downfall. Implications for incorporating aspects of this study into future research were discussed.

Non-sympathetic FRN responses to drops in others’ stocks

Abstract: Previous neuroeconomic studies have observed that people display sympathetic neural responses toward others' misfortunes. We argue that the reverse emotions, such as gloating or schadenfreude, may also emerge in certain circumstances. To examine this theory, we recorded feedback-related negativity (FRN) toward others' large or small gains or losses in a stock market context. We adopted the framework of social distance, according to which we hypothesized that because others in the stock market are far away, unidentified, and indistinct, people would show less sympathy or even schadenfreude toward others' large losses. The results indicated that FRN at Fz was significantly less negative when observing larger decreases in others' stock, indicating that others' large losses are not unexpected negative events in the stock market and suggesting the existence of schadenfreude. Our research contributes to the understanding of social neurofinance by demonstrating the schadenfreude effect in relation to the stock market. This study also provides new information regarding the relationship between FRN and the social emotions that form the expectations of gain and loss.

Schadenfreude as a mate‐value‐tracking mechanism: Replication and extension of Colyn and Gordon (2013)

Abstract: The present research provides a replication and extension of L. A. Colyn and A. K. Gordon's (2013) study on gender differences in schadenfreude. An experiment-in which both the gender of the unfortunate other and the dimension on which the misfortune occurred were manipulated-showed that female participants reported more schadenfreude when a same-gender other (vs. an opposite-gender other) experienced a misfortune on the dimension of physical attractiveness (vs. social status), whereas male participants reported more schadenfreude when a same-gender other (vs. an opposite-gender other) experienced a misfortune on the dimension of social status (vs. physical attractiveness). In the discussion, differences between our results and those of Colyn and Gordon are discussed.

Coworker Responses to Observed Mistreatment: Understanding Schadenfreude in the Response to Supervisor Abuse

Abstract: One particular egregious type of workplace mistreatment is supervisor abuse, which has received extensive attention due to its heavy cost to organizations including up to 23 billion dollars in annual loss resulting from increases in absenteeism, health care costs, and productivity loss. Employees attribute causes to abusive supervision, and these attributions impact subsequent reactions. In some cases, employees may feel that abusive supervision is justified, leading to the reaction of Schadenfreude, or pleasure in another’s pain. In this chapter, we discuss antecedents to Schadenfreude, its role in observed mistreatment, and propose a conceptual model based on attribution theory.

Schadenfreude and Decisions

Abstract: Schadenfreude is the pleasure derived from another person’s misfortune, and several antecedents for schadenfreude has been identified, such as envy, self-enhancement, and deservingness. However, little is known about the effect of feeling schadenfreude on subsequent decisions. The present thesis investigates in four studies the effect of schadenfreude on decisions, which aimed at extending the previous research of Kramer, Yucel-Aybat, and Lau-Gesk (2011). It was expected that participants feeling schadenfreude would choose more conventional options compared to controls because the feeling of schadenfreude informs people of the possibility that a misfortune can befall them. Schadenfreude was induced either through a video clip chosen based on the results from the pre-test (Study 1 and 2) or through an affective priming task (Study 3 and 4). The decision tasks were the ultimatum game (Study 1 and 2), an economic version of the Asian disease problem (Study 3), and a consumer choice task involving compromise and extreme options (Study 4). Study 1 through 3 showed no effect of schadenfreude on decisions. However, Study 4 showed that schadenfreude increased the choice of unconventional (i.e., extreme) options (p = .037), which is the opposite of the predicted effect. These results are discussed in relation to the importance of replication studies and future studies.

Mortality Salience Increases Belief in a Just World but Not Schadenfreudein Response to a Natural Disaster Affecting a Religious Out-group

Abstract: This study examined the hypothesis derived from Terror Management Theory that reminders of death would influence both belief in a just world and Schadenfreude, in response to reading about members of a religious out-group affect by a natural disaster. Christian students (N = 88, Mage = 19.9) were primed with thoughts of death or dental pain before reading about a natural disaster that destroyed either a Christian Church or an Islamic Mosque. Participants then completed measures of belief in a just world and schadenfreude. Mortality salience did not affect schadenfreude but social desirability may have masked this effect. Mortality salience did increase beliefs in a just world when a natural disaster affected a religious out-group, suggesting that cultural worldview may be buttressed by evidence that bad things happen to proponents of opposing belief systems.

Delicious justice: schadenfreude toward atheists bound for hell

Abstract: OF THESIS DELICIOUS JUSTICE: SCHADENFREUDE TOWARD ATHEISTS BOUND FOR HELL In the wake of the death of a prominent atheist figure in 2011, an especially unsavory side of anti-atheist prejudice became evident as many celebrated the death of a prominent atheist, rejoicing that he would be in hell. The current study explores how these attitudes reveal a sense of schadenfreude in anti-atheist prejudice previously unexplored in the literature. Potential origins of this schadenfreude are discussed, and a study to experimentally explore this phenomenon was carried out. Using the repeated taste-test paradigm, this study gave participants atheist primes and hell primes between identical drinks and measure perceived taste after these manipulations, intending for the hell primes to induce schadenfreude after atheist primes as a result from participants thinking about the atheists going to hell for their lack of faith. All predicted main effects and interactions were non-significant. Exploratory analyses were carried out to explain these null results. Implications and future directions are discussed.

I Want to Have What You Have and I Do Not Want You to Have It

Abstract: IntroductionWhen your neighbor owns a better car or a bigger house, when your classmate receives a better grade, or when your colleague sitting at the desk next to you has been promoted, you may feel envious. Material goods, social position, physical appearance, competence, skills, or even psychological state can become an object of envy (Miceli & Castelfranchi, 2007). Envy occurs in any situation when one makes an upward comparison with another and perceives others as being more fortunate than one is (van de Ven, Zeelenberg, & Pieters, 2009). The feeling of envy is a tendency present in all cultures, and in almost all languages there is a word for this phenomenon (Smith, Parrott, Diener, Hoyle, & Kim, 1999). Although envy has been an issue of philosophical or religious debate for a long time, psychological research on envy is scarce, and, considering the impact of envy on social life, this emotion should be investigated more thoroughly (Miceli & Castelfranchi, 2007). To fill this gap as well as to learn more about envy and particular dispositions related to it, the present study examined whether envy is related to positive dispositions such as self-esteem and optimism and to the tendency to ruminate. Additionally, the study was to validate the Polish version of the Dispositional Envy Scale (DES).In the literature, dispositional and episodic envy can be distinguished (Cohen-Charash, 2009). The first is a permanent, and chronic individual difference variable. In other words, it is a general tendency to feel envy (Smith et al., 1999). By contrast, episodic envy can be felt by everybody as a result of negative social comparison and consists of two components: negative emotional feelings and negative compari sons (Coh en-Charash, 2009). It has been suggested that there are two distinct forms of envy. Van de Ven et al. (2009) tested the distinction between two types of envy: benign and malicious, assumed to be quantitatively different. Malicious envy is defined as related to the motivation to harm the position of a superior other. This feeling is hostile and consists in a desire to damage the position of the envied person. Benign envy is connected with improving oneself by moving upward. This form of envy appears when the envied person has something that one desires and involves effort aimed at improving oneself but n ot mean t t o dest roy t h e oth er per son (Crusius & Lange, 2014). These two emotional experiences have opposite outcomes. A person feeling benign envy is motivated to improve their situation (moving-up motivation), while in case of malicious envy the motivation is to do harm to the envied person (pulling-down motivation) (van de Ven et al., 2009). Some results indicate that the DES measures malicious rather than benign envy (Lange & Crusius, 2015).Envy and JealousyIn the literature, envy has been defined as a hostile emotional reaction and a mixture of different emotions that comprises hostility, resentment, as well as feelings of inferiority, and injustice (Smith & Kim, 2007). This feeling is caused by the belief that other people have something (a thing, social position, a trait) that one does not have and a longing to have it or a wish that the other person did not have it either (Parrott, 1991). Silver and Sabini (1978) highlighted two different meanings of the term "envy", depending on the context. It can either convey a compliment or praise (That's so wonderful, I envy you! p. 106) or function in a negative way.In ever yda y la n gua ge, en vy is often wrongly used interchangeably with jealousy. However, there is a clear distinction between these two emotions (Parrott & Smith, 1993). Envy arises in situations when one lacks some attribute or value that another person is in possession of; in the case of jealousy, one is afraid of losing one's partner to a rival (Smith & Kim, 2007). Parrott and Smith (1993) examined the emotional experiences of envy and jealousy. …

Researching dark emotions:eliciting stories of envy

Abstract: Humans are emotional beings, and bound to project, internalize, share, and manifest their desires, thoughts, and feelings in the social environment. Through social constructions and the sharing of common cultural norms, individuals learn from childhood various ways to express and suppress emotions. This often influences the way that they manifest a particular feeling (like disgust), learn where and when it is appropriate to express such an emotion, and ways to act and react when confronted with such emotions (Hochschild 1979; Shott 1979). This process of social and cultural structuring of emotions often allows for some emotions (joy, sadness) to be publicly acceptable and to be openly shared, whereas others (jealousy, revenge) are taught as necessary to hide as they project aspects of the self that are not socially accepted-and in some cultures may even be frowned upon. Other emotions, such as envy and schadenfreude, are perceived as being too toxic to even consider within oneself. These emotions are seen as being socially reprehensible, and hence often considered as social and cultural taboos. In some cases, such emotions are hidden and repressed to the extent that even the individuals themselves may not be fully aware of their presence. Leaning on Freud we can say that this act of repression, or the process through which the subject attempts to repel or confine to the unconscious various ideas, thoughts, memories, and, in particular, emotions that they find unpleasant or even traumatic, is a defense mechanism through which the self defends itself from narcissistic wounds, such as feelings of inferiority, shame, or guilt. It is important to explore the potency of these hidden, taboo emotions, and the effects they may have-not only on one’s own identity, but also on social relations and everyday life. What happens, then, when a repressed and hidden taboo emotion, such as envy, surfaces? What havoc might it cause? Gabriel (2008: 108) writes, “feelings are no simple side effects of mental life, no performances staged for the sake of audiences, no instruments of interpersonal manipulation.” When we consider the terrain of hidden, proscribed, or taboo emotions, the task of surfacing them and exploring them within an interview context becomes challenging. In this text I willaddress some of the methodological challenges that hidden, proscribed, and taboo emotions pose, due to their unacknowledged qualities. Gabriel (ibid.) further observes that human beings are not merely emotional; they are also desiring, passionate, beings. This element of desire is important in researching dark emotions as it offers that crucial window into the individual’s subjectivity. Feelings such as lust, greed, and hope all represent different forms of desire oriented towards different states or objects-and proscribed dark emotions, like envy, are no exception. Both desires and feelings have a remarkable ability to mutate and transform themselves, and it is this mutational and transformational quality that poses a serious difficulty and a methodological challenge-especially when specific feelings are considered taboo and are thus hidden. I will focus upon the emotion of envy-a primus inter pares amongst them since it is often repressed and largely remains unconscious-to illustrate some plausible methods of surfacing and studying taboo emotions.