Department of Psychology, University of Cologne, Germany.
Emotion. 2012 Feb;12(1):142-53. doi: 10.1037/a0023523. Epub 2011 May 23.
Envy is the unpleasant emotion that can arise when people are exposed to others with superior possessions. Common wisdom and scholarly opinion suggest that when people experience envy they may be motivated to obtain the others' superior possession. Despite the vast interpersonal, societal, and economical consequences attributed to this potential aspect of envious responding, experimental demonstrations of the affective and behavioral consequences of envy-inducing situations are scarce. We propose that social comparisons with better-off others trigger an impulsive envious response that entails a behavioral tendency to strive for their superior good. However, given that the experience of envy is painful, self-threatening, and met with social disapproval, people typically attempt to control their envious reactions. Doing so requires self-control capacities, so that envious reactions may only become apparent if self-control is taxed. In line with these predictions, four experiments show that only when self-control resources are taxed, upward comparisons elicit envy paired with an increased willingness to pay for, to spontaneously purchase and to impulsively approach the superior good.
嫉妒是一种不愉快的情绪，当人们接触到拥有优越财产的他人时就会产生。一般的智慧和学术观点认为，当人们感到嫉妒时，他们可能会有动力去获得他人的优越财产。尽管这种嫉妒反应的潜在方面对人际关系、社会和经济产生了巨大的影响，但对于引起嫉妒的情况的情感和行为后果的实验证明却很少。我们提出，与境况较好的他人进行社会比较会引发冲动的嫉妒反应，从而产生争取他们优越的行为倾向。然而，由于嫉妒的体验是痛苦的、自我威胁的，并且受到社会的反对，人们通常会试图控制自己的嫉妒反应。这样做需要自我控制能力，因此只有在自我控制资源受到消耗时，向上比较才会引起嫉妒，并伴随着对优越事物的支付意愿、自发购买意愿和冲动接近意愿的增加。
在四个实验中，我们发现只有当自我控制资源被消耗时，向上比较才会引起嫉妒，并伴随着对优越事物的支付意愿、自发购买意愿和冲动接近意愿的增加。
