What do we envy? How internal and external self-relevance shape envious reactions to upward comparisons

Abstract What do people envy? According to emotion theory, people should envy others for advantages that are self-relevant. However, self-relevance can have different sources. It can be defined by what is important to people themselves (internally self-relevant) and by what is important to their social group (externally self-relevant). Both forms of self-relevance should fuel envy. Envy comes in two distinct forms: benign envy, entailing upward motivation, and malicious envy, entailing hostility. When seeing someone excel in an internally self-relevant domain, the more this person should feel control to achieve success in this domain as well, promoting benign envy. However, seeing someone excel in an externally self-relevant domain should prompt a focus on others’ actions and merits, thereby promoting malicious envy. We tested these predictions in seven studies (total N = 2.056). In the first set of studies, we measured internal and external self-relevance in a within-subjects design. In the second set of studies, we manipulated internal and external self-relevance between subjects. Across studies, participants then rated their envious reactions toward a successful person in a domain. We integrated the data in two meta-analyses. Internal self-relevance consistently predicted and led to more benign envy and to less malicious envy. External self-relevance was associated with less benign and more malicious envy, although this effect was smaller and less consistent. Thus, what is important to ourselves or others may divergently shape upward or hostile motivation and behavior toward envied others.