The Impact of Deservingness on Schadenfreude and Sympathy: Further Evidence

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The authors tested the hypothesis that people experience less schadenfreude and more sympathy toward high achievers with deserved achievements who suffer misfortunes as opposed to those with undeserved achievements. The results support the hypothesis and show that this effect is mediated by the perceived deservingness of the misfortune.Keywords: deservingness, emotion, schadenfreude, sympathy WHEN PEOPLE LEARN OF THE ADVERSITIES of high achievers, they usually find it hard to resist a little smile; this pleasure derived from another's misfortune is referred to by the German word schadenfreude. Research on schadenfreude has shown this malicious joy to be evoked by the downfall of high achievers, especially when they are envied or resented (Feather & Sherman, 2002 Van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands; ww.van.dijk@psy.vu.nl (e-mail). Replications and RefinementsUnder this heading are brief reports of studies providing data that substantiate, challenge, or refine what we think we know. These notes consist of a summary of the study's procedure and as many details about the results as space allows. Additional details concerning the results can be obtained by communicating directly with the author. Submissions to this section must provide a meaningful conceptual replication that extends the construct validity of the work.

When envy leads to schadenfreude

“…undeserved advantages lead to more schadenfreude, deserved ones to less (Feather & Nairn, 2005;Van Dijk et al, 2009). We found this both as an effect of a manipulation of deservedness (Study 2) and in the regression analyses (in three out of four samples).…”

“…Deservedness of the misfortune is an important predictor of schadenfreude. Schadenfreude is evoked when another's misfortune is perceived as deserved (Feather, 1999;Feather, 2006;Feather & Sherman, 2002;Feather et al, 2013;Van Dijk et al, 2009;Van Dijk, Ouwerkerk, Goslinga, & Nieweg, 2005). For example, Van Dijk et al (2009) found that participants experienced more schadenfreude toward high achievers with undeserved achievements as opposed to those with deserved achievements, which was mediated by perceived deservedness of the misfortune.…”

The role of episodic simulation in motivating commonplace harms

“…These perspectives emphasize that people do not always view harm in a negative light. Rather, people often view harm as morally justified, even obligatory (Rai & Fiske, 2012); and in some cases they derive pleasure from harming others -especially outgroup members with whom they are in conflict (Cikara & Fiske, 2012), or who are deemed undeserving of beneficence (Van Dijk, Ouwerkerk, & Goslinga, 2009).…”

Schadenfreude is higher in real-life situations compared to hypothetical scenarios

“…Typical tasks require imagining one’s own reactions upon learning that someone with higher social status or opposite political views has lost his/her job [ 6 , 7 ], or when reading that your least favorite sport team has been defeated [ 8 – 10 ]. These studies have shown that schadenfreude is modulated by the deservingness of the other’s misfortune [ 11 – 13 ], the resentment [ 14 ] and envy [ 2 , 6 , 15 – 17 ] toward the person or group that failed, and one’s positive self-evaluation [ 15 , 16 , 18 ].…”