Schadenfreude as social-functional dominance regulator

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Emotion Research

Background:

• Schadenfreude is an emotion triggered by the misfortunes of others, inherently social in nature.
• Prior research primarily focused on the intrapersonal functions of schadenfreude, neglecting its social roles.
• This study introduces a social-functional perspective to understand schadenfreude.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate schadenfreude as a reaction to the misfortune of dominance-displaying individuals.
• To examine the role of public schadenfreude expression in downregulating the dominance of others.
• To explore the mediating role of malicious envy and downstream consequences of dominance reduction.

Main Methods:

• Seven studies involving 2,362 participants were conducted.
• Methodologies included examining reactions to dominance versus prestige displays and comparing public versus private schadenfreude expression.
• Mediational analyses and assessments of downstream consequences were employed.

Main Results:

• Schadenfreude was intensified when misfortune befell individuals displaying dominance (hubristic pride) compared to prestige (authentic pride) or embarrassment.
• This effect was mediated by malicious envy felt by inferiors.
• Public expression of schadenfreude, compared to private expression or silence, effectively reduced the perceived dominance of the misfortune-suffering individual.

Conclusions:

• Schadenfreude serves a crucial social function by downregulating the dominance of others.
• The findings highlight the interpersonal and intergroup dynamics of schadenfreude.
• This research opens new avenues for studying schadenfreude at multiple levels of analysis.