The Different Effects of Benign Versus Malicious Envy on Self-Control

Although it is an emotion that is both ubiquitous to consumer settings and a prime motivator of purchase behavior (van de Ven, Zeelenberg, and Pieters 2011; Crusius and Mussweiler 2012), envy – the negative feeling induced by wanting something that another person has (Smith and Kim 2007) – has been surprisingly understudied in our field. Of late, however, consumer scholars have sought to understand this emotion, with one focus being on the distinction between benign envy (which occurs when the envied possession/ achievement is deemed to be deserved, e.g., a job promotion based on hard work) and malicious envy (which occurs when the envied possession/achievement is deemed to be undeserved, e.g., a job promotion based on being the boss’s relative; van de Ven, Zeelenberg, and Pieters 2009; Chan and Sengupta 2013). Expanding on the previous paper (White et al.) the current paper explores how the underlying attribution process for envy shapes its effects on self-control.

This paper extends current understanding on the distinction between benign and malicious envy by examining their impact on consumer decision-making. We propose that benign envy, as com- pared to malicious envy, heightens people’s self-awareness and therefore benefits subsequent self-control. Benign envy is characterized by greater causal attribution to the self and a motivation to improve oneself, both of which induce a focus on the self and its role in creating and changing the current situation – hallmarks of self-awareness (Duval and Wicklund 1972). In contrast, malicious envy is characterized by a motivation to undermine the envied target, which focuses attention outward on the target and the unfair situation. Further, past work finds that heightened self-awareness pro- motes a correspondence between people’s behaviors and normative standards (Gibbons 1990;Wicklund and Duval 1972). Assuming that self-control represents a normative ideal for most people, we argue that benign envy (vs. malicious envy) enhances self-control. We tested this and related hypotheses in a series of studies.

Experiment 1a tested our basic premise by having student par- ticipants read a neutral scenario, or one that either elicited benign or malicious envy by describing a fellow student in a course as having received an A+ either deservedly or undeservedly. Self-control was then measured by observing their preference between chocolate cake and fruit salad; a preference for the latter indicates greater self- control (Shiv and Fedorikhin 1999). As predicted, envy type influ- enced self-control (F(2, 99) = 3.20, p = .045), such that participants in the benign envy condition reported greater relative preference for the salad (vs. cake; M = 5.52) than those in the malicious envy (M = 4.18; t(99) = 2.07, p = .041) and control conditions (M = 4.03; t(99) = 2.13, p = .023); higher numbers indicate salad preference.

Experiment 1b used a similar procedure but also included a standard measure of self-awareness (Govern and Marsch 2001). Benign envy produced both greater self-awareness (M = 4.76) and greater preference for the salad (M = 6.57) than malicious envy (Self-awareness: M = 4.25; F(1, 59) = 4.22, p = .044; Preference: M =5.13; F(1,59) = 4.26, p = .044). Importantly, the effect of envy type on self-control was mediated by self-awareness (95% CI: .03 -1.08). Although overall mood was more positive for benign (vs. malicious) envy, controlling for mood did not affect self-control results in any of our studies.

Experiment 2 further examined the role of self-awareness in driving the effect of envy on self-control. We manipulated both envy type (via a job promotion scenario similar to the opening vignette) and self-awareness (via a priming task). If the self-control improvement for benign (vs. malicious) envy is based on improved self- awareness, priming the latter should increase self-control for those experiencing malicious envy, but not for benignly envious people, who are already experiencing high self-awareness. Envy type and self-awareness indeed exerted an interactive effect on self-control (F(1, 118) = 4.57, p = .035). Further, preference for salad under malicious envy was greater when self-awareness was primed (Mprime = 5.31, Mno-prime = 3.88; t(118) = 1.95, p = .05). No such effect was obtained in the benign envy condition (Mprime = 4.63, Mno-prime = 5.45; t(118) = 1.08, p = .28). That priming actually seemed to (non-signif- icantly) decrease self-control in this condition might be a manifesta- tion of a contrast effect (Herr, Sherman and Fazio 1983). Not only does the self-awareness distinction between benign and malicious envy enable a prediction of immediate choice, it also contains implications for sequential decisions (e.g., Mukhopadhyay, Sengupta and Ramanathan 2008). Our final study first presented benignly vs. maliciously envious participants with a scenario in which they and a friend jointly ordered either an indulgent dessert or a healthy one. We then presented them with the cake-salad choice. We predicted that benignly envious participants would exhibit choice consistency (greater likelihood of choosing salad in the second choice when the first scenario indicated a preference for the healthy dessert than the indulgent one). The rationale was that benign envy increases private self-awareness; it should therefore increase the likelihood that participants attribute the first choice to themselves (vs. the friend; Duval and Wicklund 1972). Further, self- aware participants are likely to infer their own preferences from the choice they just made (Bem 1972); consequently, the next choice is likely to be consistent with the earlier one (Mukhopadhyay et al. 2008). No particular prediction about choice consistency was made for malicious envy. As predicted, the thought of having chosen a healthy (vs. indulgent) dessert earlier led to greater relative preference for salad (vs. cake; M = 4.45 vs. M = 3.13; t(142) = 1.94, p = .054) in the benign envy case. In the malicious envy condition, rela- tive preference was not influenced by prior choice (Mhealthy = 3.46, Mindulgent = 4.11; t(142) = .89, p = .37; 2-way interaction F(1, 142) = 3.91, p = .050).

Collectively, these results, and others from parallel studies in our lab not described here, contribute to both the envy literature (highlighting hitherto-unexamined effects of feeling benignly versus maliciously envious) and also the self-awareness literature by identifying a new antecedent of increased self-awareness, benign envy. More broadly, this research provides insights into consumer decision-making by showing how envy – a widely-prevalent consumer emotion – can influence decisions in seemingly-unrelated contexts. The paper that follows moves on from the previous ones in the session by considering individual differences in the goals elicited by an affective state.