Validating the “Two Faces” of Envy: The Effect of Self-Control
Envy drives different behaviors, and while we often emphasize the negative effects of envy, there are also relatively positive aspects. This study explored the “two faces” of envy or behaviors that improve oneself or degrade others. In study 1 ( N =466, 45.1% males and 54.9% females; M age =18.53, S...
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Published in | Frontiers in psychology Vol. 12; p. 731451 |
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Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Frontiers Media S.A
27.10.2021
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Envy drives different behaviors, and while we often emphasize the negative effects of envy, there are also relatively positive aspects. This study explored the “two faces” of envy or behaviors that improve oneself or degrade others. In study 1 (
N
=466, 45.1% males and 54.9% females;
M
age
=18.53,
SD
age
=2.05), we modeled the effects of envy and self-control on effort and aggression. In study 2 (
N
=102, 51% males and 49% females;
M
age
=20.56,
SD
age
=1.88), we explored the influence of envy on striving behavior and aggressive behavior using an ego depletion paradigm. The different effects of envy on different levels were doubly verified. We established structural equation models of the interactions of benign envy, malicious envy, self-control, and associated behaviors, and we found that: (1) Individuals’ striving behavior was only affected by benign envy; (2) Individuals’ aggressive behavior was influenced by both malicious envy and self-control. Ego depletion moderated the effect of malicious envy on aggressive behavior. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Edited by: Anja Achtziger, Zeppelin University, Germany This article was submitted to Personality and Social Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology Reviewed by: Cleoputri Yusainy, University of Brawijaya, Indonesia; Vera U. Ludwig, University of Pennsylvania, United States |
ISSN: | 1664-1078 1664-1078 |
DOI: | 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.731451 |