•  9
    Few people will easily admit to taking pleasure in the misfortunes of others. But who doesn't enjoy it when an arrogant but untalented contestant is humiliated on American Idol, or when the embarrassing vice of a self-righteous politician is exposed, or even when an envied friend suffers a small setback? The truth is that joy in someone else's pain--known by the German word schadenfreude--permeates our society. In The Joy of Pain, psychologist Richard Smith, one of the world's foremost authoriti…Read more
  •  8
    Author Reply: More About When Bad News Arrives and Good News Strikes
    with Wilco W. Van Dijk
    Emotion Review 11 (3): 262-264. 2019.
    We address the differences between schadenfreude and happiness and those between gluckschmerz and anger. We argue that these emotions are largely elicited by distinct interactions of appraisals that trigger distinct emotional responses. Moreover, we discuss both schadenfreude and gluckschmerz in relation to the emotional lexicon of several languages and conclude that these emotions help us to better understand human behaviour.
  •  61
    Schadenfreude and Gluckschmerz
    with Wilco W. van Dijk
    Emotion Review 10 (4): 293-304. 2018.
    We explore why people feel the socially improper emotions of schadenfreude and gluckschmerz. One explanation follows from sentiment relations. Prior dislike leads to both schadenfreude and gluckschmerz. A second explanation relates to concerns over justice. Deserved misfortune is pleasing and undeserved good fortune is displeasing. A third explanation concerns appraisal of the good or bad fortunes of others as creating either benefit or harm for the self or in-group. Especially in competitive si…Read more
  •  73
    When envy leads to schadenfreude
    with Niels van de Ven, Charles E. Hoogland, Wilco W. van Dijk, Seger M. Breugelmans, and Marcel Zeelenberg
    Cognition and Emotion 29 (6): 1007-1025. 2015.
    Previous research has yielded inconsistent findings concerning the relationship between envy and schadenfreude. Three studies examined whether the distinction between benign and malicious envy can resolve this inconsistency. We found that malicious envy is related to schadenfreude, while benign envy is not. This result held both in the Netherlands where benign and malicious envy are indicated by separate words (Study 1: Sample A, N = 139; Sample B, N = 150), and in the USA where a single word is…Read more
  •  17
    Envy: Theory and Research (edited book)
    Oxford University Press. 2008.
    This book has an overall focus on psychological approaches to the study of envy, but it also has a strong interdisciplinary character as well. Envy serves as a reference and spur for further research for researchers in psychology as well as other disciplines."--BOOK JACKET.
  • Envy and Schadenfreude
    with Terence Turner, Ron Garonzick, Colin Leach, Vanessa Urch-Druskat, and Christine Weston
    Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 22 (2): 158-168. 1996.
  •  3
    Comprehending Envy
    with Sung Hee Kim
    Psychological Bulletin 133 46-64. 2007.