When your gain is my pain and your pain is my gain: neural correlates of envy and schadenfreude.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Graded by design analogy for laboratory neuroimaging experiments in healthy humans.
PubMed 19213918 · doi:10.1126/science.1165604
What was done
Two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies were conducted to examine neural responses during social comparison. In study one, participants read scenarios about target individuals with varying levels of possessions and self-relevance to elicit envy. In study two, participants evaluated misfortunes befalling these target individuals to elicit schadenfreude. Neural activation and predictive relationships between the two states were assessed.
What was found
In study one, superior and self-relevant target characteristics induced stronger envy and greater anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activation. In study two, misfortunes befalling envied targets induced stronger schadenfreude and greater striatal activation. ACC activation in study one predicted ventral striatum activation in study two. The abstract reports no numerical data, sample sizes, or effect sizes.
Why it matters
This work demonstrates a neurofunctional link between the social pain of upward comparison and the reward response elicited when an envied person suffers misfortune.
Limits
The abstract does not disclose participant counts, demographics, or quantitative effect sizes. Responses to hypothetical text scenarios may not fully capture spontaneous real-world social comparison emotions.
Cited by
- supports Brain imaging experiments show that when something bad happens to a person who is disliked, the reward system in the brain becomes activated.