Envy Depletes Our Willpower

When you find yourself in a situation where you feel envy you will have to exercise self control, i.e. willpower. You have a limited supply of self control. We propose that social comparisons with better-off others trigger an impulsive envious response that entails a behavioral tendency to strive for their superior good. However, given that the experience of envy is painful, self-threatening, and met with social disapproval, people typically attempt to control their envious reactions. Doing so requires self-control capacities, so that envious reactions may only become apparent if self-control is taxed. In line with these predictions, four experiments show that only when self-control resources are taxed, upward comparisons elicit envy paired with an increased willingness to pay for, to...
Source: FuturePundit - Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs