Jealousy within the perspective of a self-evaluation maintenance theory.

Abstract

We dealt with jealousy in the perspective of a self-evaluation maintenance theory which emphasizes the importance of rivals and their characteristics in view of the self-concept of individuals. If our study replicates 1996 results of DeSteno and Salovey, the finding would support the hypothesis that jealousy is a specific process for maintenance of self-evaluation. Thus, a participant should report greater jealousy when the domain of a rival's achievements was one of high self-relevance for the participant. Support for this hypothesis was found under one condition. The relevance of a rival's domain to the participant's self-definition influenced intensity of experienced jealousy only if the domain was a central professional skill (of prospective teachers, namely, "the ability to handle children well"). Consequently, the relevance of the other domains used by DeSteno and Salovey (1996)--intelligence, popularity, athleticism--is not of unlimited validity. In contrast to DeSteno and Salovey, sex differences were significant.