Abstract: This study explored the different conceptualizations of envy in scholarly psychological publications, in terms of cultural models shared in scientific community, which contribute to the social construction of this emotional experience. A text analysis based on social representation theory was conducted on a corpus of 450 abstracts consulted in PsycINFO Database and allowed the detection of five main representations of envy in psychological literature as primary destructiveness, subjective unfairness, narcissistic defense, competitive tendency and malicious joy. They are conceived along four latent dimensions respectively, regarding source (internal/external agency), function (self-development/other-derogation), self-awareness (low/high control) and legitimacy (moral/amoral values) of envy. The results highlight the psychoanalytic and psychosocial perspective about envy and its paradoxical function for social order.Key wo rd s: envy, emotion, social representa tion theory, text analysis, scientific commu nicationSOCIALNE KONSTRUOVANIE ZAVISTI VO VEDECKEJ KOMUNITE: ANALÝZA VEDECKÝCH PSYCHOLOGICKÝCH PUBLIKACIIA. C a p u t oSu hrn: Stu dia sk uma rozdiela ne konceptualizacie zavisti vo vedeckých psychologických publikaciach, a to v zmysle ku ltu rnych modelov zdiela ných vo vedeck ej k omu nite, k tore prispievaju k socialnemu k onstru ova niu tohto emocneho zazitku. Analyzovali sa a bstra k ty 4 5 0 textov z databazy PsycINFO na za k la de teorie socialnej reprezentacie kde sme odhalili pa t hlavných reprezentacii zavisti, ak o su primarna destruktivita, subjektivna neferovost, narcisticka obrana, su tazivost a skodora dost. Tieto su zvazovane vzhladom na styri latentne dimenzie, a to zdroj (interný/externý a gent), fu nk cia (sebarozvijanie/znevazovanie ostatných), seba u vedomova nie (nizk a/vysok a k ontrola ) a legitimita (moralne/amoralne hodnoty) zavisti. Výsledk y u k a zu ju psychoanalytick u a psychosocialnu perspektivu zavisti a jej paradoxnu fu nk ciu v socia lnom poriadku.Envy is a traditional concern of social sci- ence (Silver, Sabini, 1978). However, spite the many plausible claims for the pow- erful influence of envy in everyday social interactions and for its role in shaping so- cietal norms, psychological research on envy is only in its early stages (Smith, Kim, 2007, p. 46). Envy is generally defined as a negative emotion that arises when a per- son lacks another 's superior quality, achievement, or possession and either de- sires it or wishes that the other lacked it (Parrott, Smith, 1993). As well as shame, guilt or jealousy, envy is considered as a potentially problematic social emotion for both individual adjustment and interpersonal behavior (Tangney, Salovey, 1999). Indeed, it may lead to sacrifice one's own outcomes to diminish a competitor 's relative advan- tage (Berke, 1988; Parks, Rumble, Posey, 2002; Thernstrom, 1998; Zizzo, Oswald, 2001), criminal behavior (Schoeck, 1969) or ingroup biases (Glick, 2002; White et al., 2006). However, despite the fact that envy refers to a destructive and antisocial atti- tude, stigmatized in all cultures as a deadly sin, such a widespread feeling is also rec- ognized as necessary to the existence of society, to its development and to the es- tablishment of social relations (de Gaulejac, 1997). Indeed, according to an evolution- ary perspective, envy may serve an impor- tant function in social competitions for ac- cess to resources that affect fitness (Alicke, Zell, 2008) and, although it often results in subjective distress, this type of emotional distress functions to motivate adaptive ac- tion (Buss, 1989; Hill, Buss, 2008).In this regard, psychological literature highlights the complex nature of envy, de- picted as an emotion, a reason for action, or a characterization of an action as a trans- gression of a moral order (Sabini, Silver, 1986), which can affect everyday life relating the concept to the social arena and social action (Clarke, 2004). …