Summary: A new study explores the complex moral landscape of revenge, revealing that people’s reactions to revenge vary greatly depending on the emotions displayed by the avenger. Conducted in four studies involving Polish students and American adults, the study found that avengers who displayed satisfaction were perceived as more competent, while those who expressed pleasure were perceived as immoral.
These perceptions change dramatically when people imagine themselves in the place of the avenger, tending to view their own actions as less moral than others. The findings challenge conventional views of revenge, suggesting that societal and personal perspectives on morality and competence profoundly influence judgments of retaliatory actions.
Key facts:
- Avengers showing satisfaction are perceived as more competent, while those expressing pleasure are seen as immoral.
- Individuals are perceived as less moral when they imagine themselves as avengers, compared to others.
- The study suggests that cultural factors and personal perspectives play a significant role in how revenge is morally evaluated.
source: Polish Association of Social Psychology
Revenge is often seen as socially inappropriate and morally reprehensible: a type of “savage justice.” Most people agree that revenge is morally wrong.
On the other hand, people enjoy stories in which the victim effectively takes revenge on the abuser. In addition, previous findings also confirmed that people implicitly approve of revenge.
Thus, the research team of Prof. Karolina Diduch-Hazar and Prof. Dr. Mario Gollwitzer set out to investigate whether people really morally condemn the act of revenge, or rather the pleasure that the avenger might experience.
After conducting a series of four studies: three with carefully selected groups of Polish students and one with a similarly configured selection of American adults, the researchers reported curious nuances between situations in which perpetrators demonstrated pride in revenge and those in which they experienced pleasure; as well as cases in which research participants are placed in the shoes of an imaginary avenger rather than simply as observers.
In their study, published in a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal Social Psychological Bulletin, the team confirmed that although people who retaliate may be approved of, they are still morally condemned compared to people who choose not to retaliate.
Interestingly, when the study participants had to evaluate hypothetical situations in which the avengers demonstrated satisfaction with their action, they attributed traits such as greater competence (meaning confidence, ability, effectiveness) compared to imaginary people who they felt bad that they had taken revenge on their wrongdoers or those who had not taken revenge at all.
Here, the researchers explain, revenge and subsequent gratification are seen more as evidence that the actor is capable of achieving a goal.
On the other hand, when imaginary avengers were described as having pleasure, study participants saw them as particularly immoral.
“Experiencing pleasure after revenge may signal that the original motivation was not to teach the offender a moral lesson, but rather to feel good—a self-oriented and morally questionable motive,” the researchers commented.
Interestingly, there were noticeable differences between the same scenarios in which the study participants were in the shoes of the Avengers and those in which they played simply bystanders.
When they imagine themselves carrying out the revenge, participants perceive themselves as less moral than, say, a colleague who does the same. Also, if someone else retaliated, that person will appear more competent.
These results, the authors say, contradict previous scientific evidence that when judging other people, one evaluates their actions from a moral perspective, whereas self-evaluations are usually made in terms of competence.
Among other interesting findings from the series of studies, the researchers noted that the impression of feeling good (vs. bad) about seeking revenge did not affect the likelihood of revenge.
On average, participants stated that they would not punish their offender. Furthermore, fear of being judged themselves was found to have no effect on whether or not they would retaliate.
Although they report quite interesting findings, most of which are quite contrasting with previous knowledge and conclusions, the researchers note several limitations of their study that require further research to confirm their observations. First, their conclusions may be culture specific.
They remind that, for example, avengers are not judged so harshly in those communities and nations where honor is especially valued. Second, the studies used hypothetical situations.
Finally, the study authors note, participants simply had to imagine revenge and good/bad feelings.
About this news about the study of psychology and revenge
Author: Dimitar Boyadzhiev
source: Polish Association of Social Psychology
Contact: Dimitar Boyadzhiev – Polish Association of Social Psychology
Image: Image credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Closed access.
“Feel bad about feeling good? How Avengers and Bystanders Evaluate the Hedonic Pleasure of Revenge” by Karolina Diduch-Hazar et al. Social Psychological Bulletin
Summary
Feeling bad about feeling good? How avengers and observers evaluate the hedonic pleasure of revenge
Four pre-registered experiments (total N = 2039) examined how people morally evaluate avengers who experience hedonic pleasure (vs. displeasure) following revenge and whether avengers themselves perceive these third-party moral evaluations.
Victims who retaliated were rated as more immoral than victims who did not retaliate, especially when they experienced pleasure in doing so (Study 1).
Conversely, participants expected that others would perceive them as more competent (but not less moral) when they imagined themselves showing visible signs of enjoyment (vs. displeasure) of revenge (Study 2).
Furthermore, showing signs of revenge enjoyment was attributed to greater competence than showing signs of revenge displeasure (Study 3).
Conversely, feeling good about revenge was attributed to lower morality than feeling bad about revenge (Study 4).
