An Interpersonal Model of Envy. Examining Interpersonal Antecedents and Consequences of Envy in Social Interactions
Final Report Abstract
Very few studies have investigated the interpersonal dynamics of personality and emotions in real social interactions to date. Consequently, the dynamic interplay between personality, interpersonal perceptions, and behavior of interaction partners and the effect of this interplay on emotional experiences and their social consequences have rarely been studied. Extending previous research, within the Personality and Emotions in Social Interactions (PESI) project, a theoretical framework has been proposed and an empirical study has been conducted. The final sample of the preregistered study consisted of 436 participants (218 dyads) who were on average 31.2 years old (SD = 14.0, Range: 16-75). The study consisted of three parts and used a multimethod assessment: In Part 1, participants filled out online self-reports of personality. In Part 2, participants interacted in dyads at zero acquaintance in the laboratory and filled out self- and partner-reports of various states. During the interactions, video and audio tracks were recorded simultaneously, allowing later video analyses of every participant. In Part 3, participants provided self-reports via a follow-up online questionnaire. Open material of the PESI study is provided in the Open Science Framework. Results point to specific interpersonal dynamics between interaction partners pertaining to the relationship between personality and emotions. One aim of the project was to investigate the behavioral expression of envious feelings, and consequently the observability of such feelings by others. In line with preregistered hypotheses, results revealed both via behavioral observation by trained coders and via automatic face recognition software that envious interaction partners showed specific eye gaze behavior. Yet, further results showed that state envy is difficult to accurately perceive in unacquainted persons. Thus, interaction partners may not use eye gaze behavior as a valid cue to infer envious feelings in the other. In contrast, acquaintance reports indicated that acquainted persons are able to correctly identify dispositional enviers. Of further interest were interpersonal dynamics in social interactions that go beyond emotions. For example, analyses showed that seating distance between interaction partners was associated with perceptions of liking and with personality of both partners (measured via selfand other-report). Overall, our results shed light on the complex interpersonal dynamics during social interactions, which can be thoroughly understood only by considering effects from different multimethod perspectives. Since the theoretical framework and the materials from the PESI study are fully transparent, openly accessible, and replicable for other researchers, the present project holds great potential for future research.
Publications
- (2017). Envy: A factor for mental health problems? In C. Scheel (Chair), Selfreflexive emotions as transdiagnostic factors for mental health problems. Symposium at the 29th APS Annual Convention, Boston, USA
Rentzsch, K.
- (2018). Das PESI Projekt: Interpersonelle Antezedenzien und Konsequenzen von Neid in sozialen Interaktionen [PESI: Interpersonal antecedents and consequences of envy in social interactions]. 51. Congress of the German Psychological Society (DGPs), Frankfurt, Germany
Lösch, T., & Rentzsch, K.
- (2018). Ein interpersonelles Modell von Neid [An interpersonal model of envy]. 23. Coping-congress, Bamberg, Germany
Rentzsch, K.
- (2018). Towards an interpersonal model of envy. Symposium at the Consortium of European Research on Emotion 2018, Glasgow, UK
Rentzsch, K., & Lösch, T.
- (2018). Towards an interpersonal model of envy: Linking personality traits to the experience of envy. In Rentzsch, K. (Chair), Personality and social emotions. Symposium at the 19th European Conference on Personality (ECP), Zadar, Croatia
Lösch, T., & Rentzsch, K.
- (2019). Accuracy and bias in the social perception of envious states and traits. 15th Conference on Personality and Psychological Assessment (DPPD), Dresden, Germany
Hagemeyer, B., Lange, J., Lösch, T., & Rentzsch, K.
- (2020). Accuracy and bias in the social perception of envy. Emotion, 20(8), 1399-1410
Lange, J., Hagemeyer, B., Lösch, T., & Rentzsch, K.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000652) - (2021). Automatic analysis of nonverbal agentic and communal behavior: An exploratory study. 16th Conference on Personality and Psychological Assessment (DPPD), Ulm, Germany
Shepard, H. L., & Rentzsch, K.
- (2021). Envy is more pronounced in domains on which we base our self-esteem: The interplay between envy, self-esteem, and contingencies of self-worth. Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s Annual Convention, USA
Erz, E., & Rentzsch, K.
- (2021). One, two, three, sit next to me: personality and physical distance. Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s Annual Convention, USA
Hebel, V., Lösch, T., & Rentzsch, K.
