I would to know the evolutionary explanation of why we feel envy. In economics concepts such as fairness, reciprocity, inequity aversion are sometimes called social preferences and have been shown to lead to seemingly non-rational behavior. Fairness and reciprocity can be understood in terms of their evolutionary value. Societies in which inviduals share rewards are more likely to prosper as the risk of dying from a bad outcome is lowered. Jealousy can also be explained in terms of keeping our mating partner from leaving and having someone else's child.
But envy? What is the advantage of being envious. Yet, people are envious (to different degrees). If you get 100$ your happiness depends on whether your neighbor gets 50$ or 1000$. In extreme cases, this feeling can lead to trying to destroy our neighbor's stack of dollars. And please notice that this example is not zero-sum, so competition for resources is not a complete explanation.
The same goes for Schadenfreude, which is a form of reverse-envy, but equally strange.
I would like the contributors of OB to enlighten me on this topic. Thanks!
I would to know the evolutionary explanation of why we feel envy. In economics concepts such as fairness, reciprocity, inequity aversion are sometimes called social preferences and have been shown to lead to seemingly non-rational behavior. Fairness and reciprocity can be understood in terms of their evolutionary value. Societies in which inviduals share rewards are more likely to prosper as the risk of dying from a bad outcome is lowered. Jealousy can also be explained in terms of keeping our mating partner from leaving and having someone else's child.
But envy? What is the advantage of being envious. Yet, people are envious (to different degrees). If you get 100$ your happiness depends on whether your neighbor gets 50$ or 1000$. In extreme cases, this feeling can lead to trying to destroy our neighbor's stack of dollars. And please notice that this example is not zero-sum, so competition for resources is not a complete explanation.
The same goes for Schadenfreude, which is a form of reverse-envy, but equally strange.
I would like the contributors of OB to enlighten me on this topic. Thanks!
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