All 5 Terms & Definitions
- Envy
- A painful emotion arising from an upward social comparison in which another person has something — a possession, trait, status, or achievement — that the envying person wants and lacks. Envy always involves the self and one other person (dyadic), unlike jealousy which involves a third party.
- Benign envy
- A form of envy characterised by motivation to improve oneself and attain what the envied person has. Accompanied by the belief that the other's advantage is deserved. Energises upward striving and is associated with better performance on tasks relevant to the envied domain.
- Malicious envy
- A form of envy characterised by motivation to harm, undermine, or deprive the envied person of their advantage. Associated with the belief that the advantage is undeserved. More likely to produce schadenfreude when the envied person later suffers.
- Upward social comparison
- Comparing oneself with someone who is perceived as better off on a relevant dimension. Upward comparison can motivate improvement (if the gap seems closeable) or produce envy and discouragement (if the gap seems unbridgeable). The emotional consequence depends heavily on perceived closeness — we tend to envy people similar to us more than those who are very different.
- Schadenfreude
- Pleasure experienced at another's misfortune. Related to envy — people are more likely to feel schadenfreude about the misfortune of someone they envy. The German word has no direct English equivalent, reflecting a phenomenon that crosses cultures but may be more openly acknowledged in some.