Citation

DeSteno D, Valdesolo P, Bartlett MY. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 2006; 91(4): 626-641.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA. d.desteno@neu.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/0022-3514.91.4.626

PMID

17014289

Abstract

Several theories specifying the causes of jealousy have been put forth in the past few decades. Firm support for any proposed theory, however, has been limited by the difficulties inherent in inducing jealousy and examining any proposed mediating mechanisms in real time. In support of a theory of jealousy centering on threats to the self-system, 2 experiments are presented that address these past limitations and argue for a model based on context-induced variability in self-evaluation. Experiment 1 presents a method for evoking jealousy through the use of highly orchestrated social encounters and demonstrates that threatened self-esteem functions as a principal mediator of jealousy. In addition to replicating these findings, Experiment 2 provides direct evidence for jealousy as a cause of aggression. The ability of the proposed theory of jealousy to integrate other extant findings in the literature is also discussed.

Language: en