KNOWLEDGE NETWORK Design of inner experience · paired with Dictionary of Design → ← All 77 terms

Envy

Wanting a quality, possession, or standing that someone else has, with no existing relationship at stake — the pain is purely comparative, unlike Jealousy.

unpleasantmoderate activation

How it shows up

Envy often surfaces through comparison: a colleague's promotion, a friend's home, someone's ease or talent. It can bring a pinch of pain, a wish to have what they have, and sometimes thoughts that diminish them. Some researchers distinguish a benign form that motivates effort from a malicious form that wants the other brought down, though not everyone accepts that split. No existing relationship needs to be threatened for envy to appear.

How it differs from Jealousy

Envy wants what someone else has; jealousy fears losing what you already have to a third party.

Notice

When envy pinches, notice whether it points toward something you want for yourself or toward the other person.

Where it is felt

Felt most in the chest, stomach and face.

Based on Nummenmaa et al. (2014), bodily maps of emotions, and related research. The map shows where people report bodily sensation, on average; individual experience varies.