Testing the Justification-Suppression Model of Schadenfreude Toward the LGBTQIA Community

The present study investigates schadenfreude toward the LGBTQIA community through the lens of the Justification-Suppression Model (JSM) of prejudice. Schadenfreude, defined as pleasure at another's misfortune, often arises in intergroup contexts due to social identity processes and rivalry, but its expression is typically suppressed by anti-prejudice norms. This research tests whether providing a moral justification (e.g., prior wrongdoing by an LGBTQIA association) releases schadenfreude among individuals with high pre-existing animosity, measured via Belief in Gender Ideology (BGI), while no such effect occurs for those low in BGI. The primary aim is to provide a confirmatory test of the JSM in an intergroup emotion context, examining how latent prejudice interacts with situational justifications to predict schadenfreude reports. Participants will complete a BGI measure, then read a vignette about vandalism against an LGBTQIA association (Merited condition: association previously stole funds; Unmerited: no justification). We expect higher schadenfreude in the Merited condition only for high-BGI participants (H1), with no condition difference for low-BGI participants (H2)