Counterfactual thoughts distinguish benign and malicious envy release_a57riuldgrebnd7aoe4jmt5xra

Abstract

When people encounter others surpassing them in terms of an important quality, possession, or achievement, they often think about what might have happened differently so that they would have obtained a better outcome. Such upward counterfactual thoughts have been shown to contribute to the intensity of envy. We investigated whether specific counterfactual thoughts distinguish different forms of envy, namely benign envy, which entails upward motivation, and malicious envy—which entails hostility. A meta-analysis of eight studies (1 preregistered, N = 1,264) of a first line of research supports that recalled episodes of benign versus malicious envy are characterized by more additive, self-focused counterfactuals or by more other-focused counterfactuals, respectively. Furthermore, a meta-analysis of six studies (1 preregistered, N = 1,299) of a second line of research supports that eliciting these counterfactuals promotes the corresponding form of envy. In line with functional accounts of envy and counterfactual thinking, the results highlight cognitive processes that underlie functionally diverging pathways of envious responding.
In application/xml+jats format

Archived Files and Locations