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Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude

Understanding Pleasure at the Misfortune of Others
Wilco W. van Dijk , Universiteit Leiden
Jaap W. Ouwerkerk , Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
September 2016
Available
Paperback
9781316617960

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    When someone suffers a mishap, a setback or a downfall, we sometimes find ourselves experiencing schadenfreude - an emotion defined as deriving pleasure from another's misfortune. Schadenfreude is a common experience and an emotion which is seemingly inherent to social being. This book offers a comprehensive summary of current theoretical and empirical work on schadenfreude from psychological, philosophical and other scientific perspectives. The chapters explore justice as an underlying motive for schadenfreude, and the role played by social comparison processes and envy in evoking pleasure at the misfortunes of others in interpersonal relations. Schadenfreude is also described as a common phenomenon in intergroup relations. This is a compelling volume on a fascinating subject matter that aims to increase our understanding of the nature of this emotion and the role it plays in social relations.

    • Features up-to-date discussions of relevant issues concerning schadenfreude by the world's leading psychologists and philosophers in the domain
    • Provides examples of sociological, cultural, and historical perspectives on schadenfreude
    • Proposes research questions that still need to be addressed for a better understanding of the nature of schadenfreude and the role it plays in social relations - spurring future research

    Reviews & endorsements

    'While the Germanic language is hardly the lingua franca of the modern world, the word 'schadenfreude' has become global coinage. This new international collection is a fascinating multidisciplinary exploration of an extremely problematic emotion - the pleasure at another's suffering - in a wide array of social contexts. It should be essential reading for social psychologists and those working in ethics where concerns of status, envy and justice render schadenfreude a widely felt emotion.' M. J. McNamee, Swansea University

    'These fascinating, well-written essays represent a wide range of perspectives that provide deep insights into this intriguing and neglected emotion.' W. Gerrod Parrott, Georgetown University, Washington DC

    'As this collection suggests, schadenfreude is a neglected phenomenon … The scholars who contribute to this volume represent eight disciplines in the social sciences … and six different countries. The twenty essays address aspects of schadenfreude … such as hypocrisy, laughter, and morality and also its occurrence in nineteenth-century US literature. The book includes both theoretical and empirical studies and gives considerable attention to the concepts of 'deservingness', envy, and self-enhancement in regard to this emotion … This book is the first to give a solid and distinctive overview of schadenfreude from a social science perspective … Summing up: recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.' S. Halling, Choice

    See more reviews

    Product details

    September 2016
    Paperback
    9781316617960
    334 pages
    229 × 153 × 18 mm
    0.49kg
    10 b/w illus. 2 tables
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • 1. Introduction to schadenfreude Wilco W. van Dijk and Jaap W. Ouwerkerk
    • Part I. Schadenfreude as a Justice-Based Emotion:
    • 2. Morality and schadenfreude John Portmann
    • 3. Deservingness and schadenfreude N. T. Feather
    • 4. Hypocrisy and schadenfreude Caitlin A. J. Powell
    • Part II. Schadenfreude as a Comparison-Based Emotion:
    • 5. The personal comparative concern in schadenfreude Aaron Ben-Ze'ev
    • 6. Empirical challenges to understanding the role of envy in schadenfreude Richard H. Smith, Stephen M. Thielke and Caitlin A. J. Powell
    • 7. Malicious envy and schadenfreude Niels van de Ven
    • 8. Schadenfreude and consumer behaviour Jill M. Sundie
    • 9. Striving for positive self-evaluation as a motive for schadenfreude Wilco W. van Dijk and Jaap W. Ouwerkerk
    • Part III. Schadenfreude as an Intergroup Phenomenon:
    • 10. Stereotypes and schadenfreude Mina Cikara and Susan T. Fiske
    • 11. Schadenfreude in sports and politics: a social identity perspective D. Ryan Schurtz, David Combs, Charles Hoogland and Richard H. Smith
    • 12. Intergroup rivalry and schadenfreude Jaap W. Ouwerkerk and Wilco W. van Dijk
    • 13. Situating schadenfreude in social relations Colin Wayne Leach, Russell Spears and Anthony S. R. Manstead
    • Part IV. Schadenfreude and Related Phenomena:
    • 14. Schadenfreude and laughter F. H. Buckley
    • 15. Schadenfreude and the desire for vengeance Elise C. Seip, Mark Rotteveel, Lotte F. van Dillen and Wilco W. van Dijk
    • 16. Schadenfreude and pouting John Portmann
    • Part V. Schadenfreude in Society, Language, and Literature:
    • 17. Schadenfreude and social life: a comparative perspective on the expression and regulation of mirth at the expense of others Giselinde Kuipers
    • 18. Tracing down schadenfreude in spontaneous interaction: evidence from corpus linguistics Kurt Feyaerts and Bert Oben
    • 19. 'Smile not, however, I venture to repeat': schadenfreude in nineteenth-century American literature Diederik Oostdijk
    • 20. Schadenfreude, concluding notes Agneta H. Fischer.
      Contributors
    • Wilco W. van Dijk, Jaap W. Ouwerkerk, John Portmann, N. T. Feather, Caitlin A. J. Powell, Aaron Ben-Ze'ev, Richard H. Smith, Stephen M. Thielke, Niels van de Ven, Jill M. Sundie, Mina Cikara, Susan T. Fiske, D. Ryan Schurtz, David Combs, Charles Hoogland, Colin Wayne Leach, Russell Spears, Anthony S. R. Manstead, F. H. Buckley, Elise C. Seip, Mark Rotteveel, Lotte F. van Dillen, Giselinde Kuipers, Kurt Feyaerts, Bert Oben, Diederik Oostdijk, Agneta H. Fischer

    • Editors
    • Wilco W. van Dijk , Universiteit Leiden

      Wilco W. van Dijk is Associate Professor of Psychology at Universiteit Leiden.

    • Jaap W. Ouwerkerk , Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam

      Jaap W. Ouwerkerk is an Associate Professor of Communication Science at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.