The joy of pain and the pain of joy: In-group identification predicts schadenfreude and gluckschmerz following rival groups' fortunes

Abstract

Four studies examined how in-group identification in the domain of sports is associated with schadenfreude in reaction to another group's suffering or gluckschmerz in reaction to another group's good fortune. Schadenfreude increased as a function of in-group identification when the outgroup was a rival team rather than a non-rival team in Study 1. Study 2 showed that those who experience schadenfreude at learning of an outgroup player's injury will also tend to feel gluckschmerz when they learn of the player's recovery. Studies 3 and 4 replicated and extended these findings for both schadenfreude and gluckschmerz, and showed that neither the degree of severity of an injury nor the level of physical pain associated with the injury moderated the link between identification and both schadenfreude and gluckschmerz. Mediation analyses indicated that perceived in-group gain or loss, deservedness, and dislike were prime mediators of links between in-group identification and both emotions.