EnvY

Envy is an unpleasant emotion that usually arises when we compare ourselves with others and we perceive that we lose out in the comparison. This feeling of inferiority that characterizes envy is intimately related to identity. Envy is a consequence of a process of upward social comparison that gives us a negative image of ourselves, an image of lack with respect to another. It is, therefore, a self-conscious emotion, such as shame, guilt or humiliation, in which the self is threatened and devalued.

On the other hand, it is a very common emotion. Humans have an ingrained tendency to compare themselves to others to see if what they think, feel or do is appropriate (Festinger, 1954) and where they stand in relation to other people. It is one of the most powerful mechanisms we have to value ourselves and it thus affects our self-esteem. The information from such comparisons has been so important to members of our species since ancient times that it provokes a strong and unpleasant emotion when we are at a disadvantage. That emotion, envy, is designed by evolution for a very important function in our social lives: that of moving us to act in order to reduce disadvantage. How to do it? Put very schematically, there are two ways: try to catch up with the one who surpasses us or try to bring the other down to our position.

These two routes to restore equality, to stop feeling that unpleasant emotion, correspond to two types of envy that have been differentiated by researchers (Lange & Crusius, 2015; Van de Ven, 2016): benign envy and malicious envy. Both involve a frustrating emotional experience and a motivation to end it, but they resort to different means to achieve this goal. In the case of benign envy, the advantage that we perceive in the other moves us to improve to be like him/her or to have what he/she has. Malicious envy seeks to make the other lose his/her advantage. The distinction between these two types of envy is based on the appraisals (evaluations of the situation) that provoke them, on the characteristic focus of attention of each one and, of course, on the consequences for the envious and for the envied. Benign envy is experienced when we perceive that the other deserves what he/she has and that we have control over the situation, so that we too could access the object of our envy. The focus is on what we want, with the result, if emotion prompts us to act, being personal improvement. On the other hand, we will feel malicious envy if we consider that the advantage of the other is undeserved and that we have no possibility of obtaining it. In this case, the focus is on both the object of envy and the envied one, and the resulting responses will be aimed at making the other lose his/her advantage. When this happens, we will experience what is known by the German term schadenfreude (joy at the misfortune of others). It goes without saying that this second type of envy is much more dangerous. In fact, it is one of the most frequent causes of mobbing and humiliation in the workplace (Cohen-Charash & Mueller, 2007; Duffy et al., 2012; Khan et al., 2014). But it also has negative consequences for the envious: feelings of inferiority, frustration, resentment, bad social image; it can even lead to the devaluation of other qualities that the envious possessed. All this contributes to undermine relationships with others and to counteract positive emotions and healthy lifestyles, ultimately leading to poor physical and mental health.

Although this research group does not focus primarily on the emotion of envy, some of its members have participated in research where its development in childhood is analyzed. Among other issues, based on the fact that envy is a socially undesirable emotion, at least in its malicious version, we have studied the role of the acquisition of social rules on what should and should not be expressed and how children view the expressions of envy and schadenfreude on the part of the envious and also of boastfulness and modesty on the part of the envied. Children, early on, understand these rules of not damaging the image of another through envious contempt but it takes them a little longer to understand modesty as a strategy of self-contempt so as not to provoke negative feelings in others (Quintanilla et al., 2018). Likewise, we have analyzed the influence of comparison (interpersonal, group and intergroup) and the identification of children with the group on the type of emotions and behaviors that they manifest when they feel at a disadvantage compared to another (Gaviria et al., 2021).

A constant in all these studies, regardless of the variables analyzed, is that the open expression of envy and schadenfreude becomes less frequent with age. Children become aware that it is not socially acceptable to show such emotions towards others and nor is it beneficial for them to make it clear to others that they consider themselves inferior. Other factors, such as the development of self-regulation and empathy, also contribute to this decline, at least when it comes to malicious envy. However, this does not mean that emotions disappear. It is its external manifestation that is evolving, becoming more subtle and suitable for coexistence, although not always less harmful.