Impact of Social Comparison on Schadenfreude among Young Adults: Mediation by Malicious Envy

Abstract

Previous studies have investigated whether envy, particularly malicious envy increases feelings of schadenfreude or whether this effect is evident in both gain and loss frames. Additionally, as a social-comparison-based emotion, schadenfreude was not investigated through social comparisons in previous studies. The current study primarily focused on investigating the impact of social comparison on malicious envy and schadenfreude among young adults. This study also aimed at explaining the mediating role of malicious envy between social comparison and schadenfreude among young adults. Cross-sectional design was employed and data of N=450 was collected through purposive convenient sampling technique from male (n = 190) and female (n= 260).Participants responded on the Social Comparison scale, Schadenfreude Scale (SS), Benign and Malicious Envy Scale (BeMaS) and translated into Urdu language. The Pearson correlational analysis revealed when students do upward social comparison it will increase feeling of envy and schadenfreude. Regression analysis demonstrate that social comparison does not directly predicts schadenfreude further analysis shows that malicious envy is the positive predictor of schadenfreude. The mediation analysis confirmed that malicious envy mediates the effect of social comparison on schadenfreude. It is concluded that social comparison predict schadenfreude by effecting the malicious envy. It is concluded that the phenomenon of schadenfreude may be reduced directly by designing intervention that may address recognition and avoidance of upward social comparison and indirectly by identifying and addressing feelings of malicious envy.