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The Bad Can Be Good: When Benign and Malicious Envy Motivate Goal Pursuit

Anthony Salerno¹; Juliano Laran²; Chris Janiszewski³

¹ Carl H. Lindner College of Business, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0145 · ² University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124-6524 · ³ Russell Berrie Eminent Scholar Chair and Professor of Marketing, Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-7155

AbstractBenign and malicious envy are a consequence of an unfavorable upward comparison to another individual (i.e., a negative self-other discrepancy). Benign (malicious) envy occurs when people believe the envied individual deserves (does not deserve) his/her advantage. Prior research has shown that benign envy motivates a person to address the self-other discrepancy via self-improvement, whereas malicious envy does not. This research shows that both types of envy, not just benign envy, can motivate self-improvement, provided that the opportunities to do so occur outside the envy-eliciting domain. Benign envy increases the accessibility of the belief that effort determines whether people are rewarded; hence, it motivates process-focused goal pursuit and the use of products that emphasize effort-dependent self-improvement. Malicious envy increases the accessibility of the belief that the effort does not determine whether people are rewarded; hence, it motivates outcome-focused goal pursuit and the use of products that emphasize effort-independent self-improvement. Implications and potential extensions in the areas of envy, self-conscious emotions, and goals are discussed.

DOI

10.1093/jcr/ucy077

Volume

46 (2)

Pages

388-405

Language

en

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