Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the effects of the deservingness of envious objects on benign and malicious envy as well as the interaction effect of deservingness and envious type on cooperation in a public goods game (PGG). Participants included 458 children (Mage = 11.31 years, 50% girls) from four public schools in Shanghai, China. Children cooperated with the envied person in deserved and undeserved conditions and then reported their levels of benign and malicious envy. Results showed that undeserved objects triggered more intense benign and malicious envy in children. However, deservingness triggered different types of envious behavioral responses. Younger girls who reported more benign envy were more likely to cooperate in the deserved situation, whereas younger girls and boys who reported more malicious envy were less likely to cooperate in the undeserved situation. The findings highlighted the complex interplay between envy type and children’s age and gender in predicting their cooperation in deserved and undeserved situations.
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The analyzed datasets of the current research are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We thank all the participants for their contribution to this project.
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This study was funded by The Research Project of Shanghai Science and Technology Commission (No. 20dz2260300).
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This study was carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki. The protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Review Board at the East China Normal University. Written informed consents were obtained from all participants and their parents.
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Highlights
The deservingness of others’ advantages influenced the intensity of both benign and malicious envy in children.
We distinguished the different effects of benign envy and malicious envy on cooperation.
Benign envy predicted more cooperation with the envied person in deserved situations in young girls.
Malicious envy predicted less cooperation with the envied person in undeserved situations in young girls and boys.
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He, X., Ren, H., Cui, L. et al. Benign and malicious envy and its effects on cooperation in Chinese children. Curr Psychol 43, 16389–16398 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05592-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05592-z