ENVY

Envy (from Latin invidia) is an emotion which occurs when a person lacks another’s superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it.

Psychologists have suggested that real or malicious envy should be distinguished from “benign envy” — malicious envy being proposed as an unpleasant emotion that causes the envious person to want to bring down the better-off even at their own cost, while benign envy involves recognition of other’s being better-off, but causes the person to aspire to be as good. Benign envy is still a negative emotion in the sense that it feels negative.

However, Sherry Turkle considers that the advent of social media and selfie culture is creating an alienating sense of “self-envy” psyche in users, and posits this further affects problem areas attached to attachments. Envy and gloating have parallel structures as emotions.

According to researchers, benign envy can provide emulation, improvement motivation, positive thoughts about the other person, and admiration. This type of envy, if dealt with correctly, can positively affect a person’s future by motivating them to be a better person and to succeed. Human instinct is to avoid negative aspects in life such as the negative emotion, envy. However, it is possible to turn this negative emotional state into a motivational tool that can help a person to become successful in the future.

Envy may negatively affect the closeness and satisfaction of relationships. Overcoming envy might be similar to dealing with other negative emotions (anger, resentment, etc.). Individuals experiencing anger often seek professional treatment (anger management) to help understand why they feel the way they do and how to cope. Subjects experiencing envy often have a skewed perception on how to achieve true happiness. By helping people to change these perceptions, they will be more able to understand the real meaning of fortune and satisfaction with what they do have. According to Lazarus, “coping is an integral feature of the emotion process”. There are very few theories that emphasize the coping process for emotions as compared to the information available concerning the emotion itself.