Dispositional Vengeance and Anger on Schadenfreude

Abstract

The aim of this study was to construct a model of the elicitation of schadenfreude through vengeance, envy, and trait anger. Japanese undergraduates (239 men, 284 women) completed questionnaires assessing dispositional vengeance, trait anger, and empathy. Then, participants read two scenarios: one about a target person's success and one about his or her misfortune. After reading the first scenario, the participants were asked to rate their envy toward the target person, then their feelings of schadenfreude after the second. A Japanese version of the Vengeance Scale was developed, and its construct validity and test-retest reliability were confirmed. Structural equation modeling was applied to examine how dispositional vengeance, trait anger, and envy were related to schadenfreude. The results indicated that envy and dispositional vengeance were significantly related to scores on the schadenfreude scale, with no gender effect, whereas vengeance was associated with envy only for women.

I Want to Have What You Have and I Do Not Want You to Have It

“…In the current study, the strong and significant positive correlation between envy and Schadenfreude supports Krizan and Johar' study (2012), which yielded similar results. There is also evidence that envy is a predictor of Schadenfreude: the stronger tendency a person has to feel envy, the more they feel Schadenfreude (Sawada & Hayama, 2012). Envy correlated positively with rumination.…”

“…An alternative method of measuring envy was also used -namely, Envy and Schadenfreude Scenarios (Sawada & Hayama, 2012), in which participants read two scenarios that triggered first envy and then Schadenfreude. After that, the participants assessed their feeling on several dimensions such as I feel inferior or I feel happy.…”

“…Recent findings showed that envy was connected with Schadenfreude Sawada & Hayama, 2012;Feather & Sherman, 2002). Interestingly, found that only malicious envy was associated with Schadenfreude, while benign envy was not.…”

“…Interestingly, found that only malicious envy was associated with Schadenfreude, while benign envy was not. Some evidence indicates that envy can be a predictor of Schadenfreude (Sawada & Hayama, 2012). Other studies show that Schadenfreudepleasure derived from someone else's misfortune -is predicted by resentment, not by envy (Feather & Sherman, 2002).…”

Psychometric parameters of an abbreviated vengeance scale across two countries

“…The scale has been used in numerous studies on diverse topics, including perceptions of violence following a betrayal by a romantic partner (Forbes, Jobe, White, Bloesch, & Adams-Curtis, 2005), human values (McKee & Feather, 2008), religious orientation (Greer, Berman, Varan, Bobrycki, & Watson, 2005), reappraisal and aggressive behavior (Barlett & Anderson, 2011), and subjective happiness and forgiveness (Uysal & Satici, 2014). The scale also exhibits good psychometric properties in different cultures and languages, including Italian (Ruggi, Gilli, Stuckless, & Oasi, 2012), Turkish (Satici, Can, & Akin, 2015), and Japanese (Sawada & Hayama, 2012).…”