As much as the recent disgrace of Tiger Woods, one of the most successful athletes in the world, shocked us, many people relished watching his downfall. Would his personal anguish have been savored as much if he were an unknown caddy?
Recent neuroscience research suggests not; we most enjoy observing the misfortune of someone we envy.
As social creatures, humans spend a considerable amount of time and energy evaluating our place in society's pecking order. We judge ourselves and others on personal qualities, achievements or possessions. Although social evaluation can serve as a strong motivational tool to improve our own stock, it is often accompanied by innate and deeply-entrenched resentment of others: envy. Bertrand Russell called it 'an unfortunate facet' of human nature. As a painful and unpleasant emotion embodied by feelings of inferiority, experiencing the green-eyed monster can decrease our overall life satisfaction.
When we envy someone, we may wish that we also had whatever advantage they possess, or that they lose it. Consequently, although we may feel pity when hard luck falls on someone we envy, we also may experience schadenfreude, or pleasure at another's suffering. Because social comparison is inherently relative rather than based on intrinsic value, someone's loss can be as gratifying as our own personal success: either way, we're moving up the hierarchy.
So what does neuroscience have to tell us about envy and schadenfreude?
Using MRI, neuroscientists in Japan observed brain activity in study participants while describing scenarios designed to evoke envy. Participants were college students who were preparing to enter the job market. The scenario featured three characters: one that was applying for the same job as the participant and was of the same genderbut with better qualifications, a second that was applying for a different job with a different gender and better qualifications, and a third that was applying for a different job with a different gender and mediocre qualifications.
Participants were more likely to report that they envied the person who was similar to them but was described as having superior abilities. The more they reported feelings of envy, the more brain activity they had in a region called the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, an area involved in processing pain. This gives foundation to the painful experience that can be associated with envy.
In a follow-up experiment, the researchers had participants imagine a reunion with the three characters after a year had passed. This time, each of the characters in the scenario experienced an unpleasant circumstance, such as food poisoning at a restaurant or finding out that their girlfriend had an affair with another man (I'm not making this up!). Participants then had to rate, on a scale of 1-6, how much pleasure they experienced when they learned of the character's misfortune. This study is getting juicy. Similar to the first study, subjects reported greater schadenfreude for the character who was similar to them but with superior qualities. Their pleasure at the character's suffering corresponded to activity in a region of the brain called the nucleus accumbens, the brain's reward center. It's the same region that lights up when we eat something sweet or experience pleasure; it's our mental indulgence zone. By analogy, in terms of brain activation, hearing about someone suffering is as good as sex-if it's someone you envy.
Finally, the researchers compared the amount of subjects' brain activity during the envy scenario with the amount of activity for schadenfreude, and found that the two were highly related. The more envy a person experienced, the more pleasure was evoked when the target of their envy fell from grace.
A related study by a research group in Israel examined envy and schadenfreude using the hormone oxytocin. Recent studies have pointed to oxytocin as being a ‘love hormone' because it induces bonding, feelings of trust, increases generosity and reduces anxiety. In this study, researchers gave participants either oxytocin or a placebowhile they participated in a money-earning game with another person. Participants were able to see how much they earned relative to the other person and then asked to rate how envious they felt of the other person's winnings and how glad they were when they won more. Surprisingly, rather than placate feelings of resentment or gloating in the face of disparate earnings, the subjects were more envious when they received oxytocin rather than placebo, and they reported higher levels of schadenfreude. Although most studies highlight oxytocin's role in pro-social behaviors, it may be involved in a wider range of social emotions, even negative feelings such as envy. In terms of envy and schadenfreude, the fact that oxytocin, a social hormone, modulates them highlights the highly social nature of these two emotions.
Ultimately, as demonstrated in these studies, we compare ourselves to people who are socially relevant to us. We don't envy a billionaire we've never met on the other side of the planet as much as the guy in the corner office earning a few extra figures and getting more praise from superiors. Similarly, we stand to gain the most at someone's misfortune if the person is highly relevant, such as someone of the same age, gender or belonging to the same group.
The people who delighted most in Tiger Woods personal struggles were most likely the people who envied him the most and those who stood to gain the most. Didn't Phil Mickelson have a devilish grin when he beat Tiger at the Master's?
