Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 2, 2025
08:24
The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
Published on: August 25, 2023
711
Individual differences in spite predict costly third-party punishment
José L Martínez1, Jon K Maner1
1Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
Journal of Personality
|February 28, 2024
Summary
Trait spite, the tendency to harm others at personal cost, can promote beneficial costly punishment of selfish behavior. This motivation, independent of dark personality traits, is driven by a desire for retribution.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Personality Psychology
Background:
- Spiteful behaviors involve self-inflicted costs to harm others.
- While often destructive, spite may play a role in enforcing social norms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential socially beneficial aspect of spite: costly punishment of selfish behavior.
- To examine the relationship between trait spite and costly punishment, independent of other dark personality traits.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a costly third-party punishment task across four studies.
- Assessed individual differences in spite, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.
- Measured motivations underlying punishment behaviors.
Main Results:
- Trait spite positively correlated with costly punishment of selfishness, independent of dark triad traits.
- This association was mediated by a desire for retribution.
- Spite also predicted costly punishment of generosity, mediated by a desire to threaten.
Conclusions:
- Costly punishment of wrongdoing is vital for group cooperation.
- Spiteful motivations, particularly the desire for retribution, contribute to enforcing social norms and maintaining cooperation.
Related Concept Videos
01:08Timing and Consequences on Behavior
90
In operant conditioning, the timing of reinforcement is crucial. For animals like rats and cats, immediate reinforcement (within a few seconds) is much more effective than delayed reinforcement. For example, a food reward for a rat needs to follow within 30 seconds of pressing a bar to be effective.
Humans, however, can respond to delayed reinforcers. We often make decisions between immediate small rewards and delayed larger rewards. This ability to delay gratification is a significant...
Humans, however, can respond to delayed reinforcers. We often make decisions between immediate small rewards and delayed larger rewards. This ability to delay gratification is a significant...
90
00:52Social Proof
27.7K
Social proof is a form of persuasion based on comparison and conformity. People compare their behavior and actions to what others are doing and will change to conform to do what their peers do.
27.7K
01:14Fundamental Attribution Error
12.9K
According to some social psychologists, people tend to overemphasize internal factors as explanations—or attributions—for the behavior of other people. They tend to assume that the behavior of another person is a trait of that person, and to underestimate the power of the situation on the behavior of others. They tend to fail to recognize when the behavior of another is due to situational variables, and thus to the person’s state. This erroneous assumption is...
12.9K
00:56Attribution Theory
13.0K
Behavior is a product of both the situation (e.g., cultural influences, social roles, and the presence of bystanders) and of the person (e.g., personality characteristics). Subfields of psychology tend to focus on one influence or behavior over others. Situationism is the view that our behavior and actions are determined by our immediate environment and surroundings. In contrast, dispositionism holds that our behavior is determined by internal factors (Heider, 1958).
13.0K
01:27Punishment
184
Negative reinforcement and punishment are often confused but serve distinct functions in behavior modification. Reinforcement, whether positive or negative, increases the likelihood of a desired behavior, while punishment decreases it.
Punishment can be positive or negative. Positive punishment involves adding an undesirable stimulus, such as scolding, to decrease a behavior. Negative punishment involves removing a desirable stimulus, such as taking away a favorite toy, to decrease behavior....
Punishment can be positive or negative. Positive punishment involves adding an undesirable stimulus, such as scolding, to decrease a behavior. Negative punishment involves removing a desirable stimulus, such as taking away a favorite toy, to decrease behavior....
184
02:20Milgram's Obedience to Authority
6.4K
Obedience to authority is classically demonstrated in a more famous series of social psychology experiments performed by Stanley Milgram. He was a social psychology professor at Yale who was influenced by the trial of Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi war criminal. Eichmann’s defense for the atrocities he committed was that he was “just following orders.”
6.4K