Envy up, scorn down: how comparison divides us - PubMed (original) (raw)

Envy up, scorn down: how comparison divides us

Susan T Fiske. Am Psychol. 2010 Nov.

Abstract

Comparison compels people, even as it stresses, depresses, and divides us. Comparison is only natural, but the collateral damage reveals envy upward and scorn downward, and these emotions, arguably, poison people and their relationships. Summaries of several experiments--using questionnaire, psychometric, response-time, electromyographic, and neuroimaging data--illustrate the dynamics of envy up and scorn down, as well as proposing how to mitigate their effects. Initial studies suggest the importance of status. Other data show how scorn down minimizes thought about another's mind; power deactivates mental concepts. Regarding envy up, other studies demonstrate that Schadenfreude (malicious joy) targets envied outgroups. However, counterstereotypic information, empathy, and outcome dependency can mitigate both scorn and envy.

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Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1. Stereotype Content Model Cluster Analysis of Social Groups

Note. High-status groups are on the right, and low-status groups are on the left; cooperative groups are in the top half, and competitive/exploitative groups are in the bottom half (according to ratings in Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, amp; Xu, 2002). Envy targets high-status outgroups (competent but not warm); in the current article, scorn combines reactions to lower status outgroups, both disgusting and pitied. Adapted from “The BIAS Map: Behaviors From Intergroup Affect and Stereotypes,” by A. J. C. Cuddy, S. T. Fiske, and P. Glick, 2007, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, p. 638. Copyright 2007 by the American Psychological Association.

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