Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of
insecurity
InSecurity is a Canadian spy comedy television series that aired on CBC Television from 2011 to 2012. The series centres on a team of covert operatives working for the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), a fictional Canadian intelli ...
,
fear
Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...
, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are two slightly dif ...
.
Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as
anger
Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat.
A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...
,
resentment
Resentment (also called ranklement or bitterness) is a complex, multilayered emotion that has been described as a mixture of disappointment, disgust and anger. Other psychologists consider it a mood or as a secondary emotion (including cognit ...
, inadequacy, helplessness or
disgust
Disgust (Middle French: ''desgouster'', from Latin ''gustus'', "taste") is an emotional response of rejection or revulsion to something potentially contagious or something considered offensive, distasteful, or unpleasant. In ''The Expression o ...
. In its original meaning, ''jealousy'' is distinct from
envy
Envy is an emotion which occurs when a person lacks another's quality, skill, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it.
Aristotle defined envy as pain at the sight of another's good fortune, stirred b ...
, though the two terms have popularly become synonymous in the
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...
, with ''jealousy'' now also taking on the definition originally used for envy alone. These two emotions are often confused with each other, since they tend to appear in the same situation.
Jealousy is a typical experience in
human relationships, and it has been observed in
infants as young as five months.
[Draghi-Lorenz, R. (2000). Five-month-old infants can be jealous: Against cognitivist ]solipsism
Solipsism (; ) is the philosophical idea that only one's mind is sure to exist. As an epistemological position, solipsism holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure; the external world and other minds cannot be known a ...
. Paper presented in a symposium convened for the XIIth Biennial International Conference on Infant Studies (ICIS), 16–19 July, Brighton, UK
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
. Some researchers claim that jealousy is seen in all cultures and is a universal trait.
[Buss, D.M. (2000). ''The Dangerous Passion: Why Jealousy is as Necessary as Love and Sex''. New York: Free Press.][White, G.L., & Mullen, P.E. (1989). ''Jealousy: Theory, Research, and Clinical Practice''. New York, NY: Guilford Press.] However, others claim jealousy is a culture-specific emotion.
Jealousy can either be suspicious or reactive, and it is often reinforced as a series of particularly strong emotions and constructed as a universal human experience.
Psychologists have proposed several models to study the processes underlying jealousy and have identified factors that result in jealousy.
Sociologists have demonstrated that cultural beliefs and
values
In ethics and social sciences, value denotes the degree of importance of something or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live (normative ethics in ethics), or to describe the significance of di ...
play an important role in determining what triggers jealousy and what constitutes socially acceptable expressions of jealousy.
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...
s have identified factors that may unconsciously influence the expression of jealousy.
Throughout history, artists have also explored the theme of jealousy in paintings, films, songs, plays, poems, and books, and
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
s have offered religious views of jealousy based on the scriptures of their respective faiths.
Etymology
The word stems from the French ''jalousie'', formed from ''jaloux'' (jealous), and further from
Low Latin
Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in ...
''zelosus'' (full of zeal), in turn from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
word (''zēlos''), sometimes "jealousy", but more often in a positive sense "emulation, ardour, zeal" (with a
root
In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...
connoting "to
boil
A boil, also called a furuncle, is a deep folliculitis, which is an infection of the hair follicle. It is most commonly caused by infection by the bacterium '' Staphylococcus aureus'', resulting in a painful swollen area on the skin caused by ...
,
ferment
Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
"; or "yeast"). The "biblical language"
zeal
Zeal may refer to:
* Zealotry, fanaticism
** Zeal of the convert
* Diligence, the theological virtue opposite to acedia
* Zeal (horse), race horse
* Zeal (surname)
* Zeal (web), an internet directory
* Zeal Monachorum, a village in Devon
* Sout ...
would be known as "tolerating no unfaithfulness" while in middle English zealous is good.
One origin word ''gelus'' meant "Possessive and suspicious" the word then turned into ''jelus.''
Since
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's use of terms like "green-eyed monster", the color green has been associated with jealousy and envy, from which the expression "green with envy", is derived.
Theories
Scientific definitions
People do not express jealousy through a single emotion or a single behavior.
[Darwin, C. (1872). The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals.][Clanton, G. & Smith, L. (1977) Jealousy. New Jersey: Prentice- Hall, Inc.][Bram Buunk, B. (1984). Jealousy as related to attributions for the partner's behavior. ]Social Psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the ...
Quarterly, 47, 107–112.
They instead express jealousy through diverse emotions and behaviors, which makes it difficult to form a scientific definition of jealousy. Scientists instead define it in their own words, as illustrated by the following examples:
* "Romantic jealousy is here defined as a complex of thoughts, feelings, and actions which follow threats to self-esteem and/or threats to the existence or quality of the relationship, when those threats are generated by the perception of potential attraction between one's partner and a (perhaps imaginary) rival."
* "Jealousy, then, is any aversive reaction that occurs as the result of a partner's extradyadic relationship that is considered likely to occur."[Bringle, R.G. & Buunk, B.P. (1991). Extradyadic relationships and ]sexual jealousy
Sexual jealousy is a special form of jealousy in sexual relationships, based on suspected or imminent sexual infidelity. The concept is studied in the field of evolutionary psychology.
Basis
Evolutionary psychologists have suggested that ther ...
. In K. McKinney and S. Sprecher (Eds.), Sexuality in Close Relationships (pp. 135–153) Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
* "Jealousy is conceptualized as a cognitive, emotional, and behavioral response to a relationship threat. In the case of sexual jealousy, this threat emanates from knowing or suspecting that one's partner has had (or desires to have) sexual activity
Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) ...
with a third party. In the case of emotional jealousy, an individual feels threatened by her or his partner's emotional involvement with and/or love for a third party."[Guerrero, L.K., Spitzberg, B.H., & Yoshimura, S.M. (2004). Sexual and Emotional Jealousy. In J.H. Harvey, S. Sprecher, and A. Wenzel (Eds.), The Handbook of Sexuality in Close Relationships (pp. 311–345). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.]
* "Jealousy is defined as a defensive reaction to a perceived threat to a valued relationship, arising from a situation in which the partner's involvement with an activity and/or another person is contrary to the jealous person's definition of their relationship."
* "Jealousy is triggered by the threat of separation from, or loss of, a romantic partner, when that threat is attributed to the possibility of the partner's romantic interest in another person."
These definitions of jealousy share two basic themes. First, all the definitions imply a triad composed of a jealous individual, a partner, and a perception of a third party or rival. Second, all the definitions describe jealousy as a reaction to a perceived threat to the relationship between two people, or a dyad. Jealous reactions typically involve aversive emotions and/or behaviors that are assumed to be protective for their attachment relationships. These themes form the essential meaning of jealousy in most scientific studies.
Comparison with envy
Popular culture uses the word jealousy as a synonym for
envy
Envy is an emotion which occurs when a person lacks another's quality, skill, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it.
Aristotle defined envy as pain at the sight of another's good fortune, stirred b ...
. Many dictionary definitions include a reference to envy or envious feelings. In fact, the overlapping use of jealousy and envy has a long history.
The terms are used indiscriminately in such popular 'feelgood' books as Nancy Friday's ''Jealousy'', where the expression 'jealousy' applies to a broad range of passions, from envy to lust and greed. While this kind of usage blurs the boundaries between categories that are intellectually valuable and psychologically justifiable, such confusion is understandable in that historical explorations of the term indicate that these boundaries have long posed problems. Margot Grzywacz's fascinating etymological survey of the word in Romance and Germanic languages
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania and Southern Africa. The most widely spoken Germanic language, E ...
asserts, indeed, that the concept was one of those that proved to be the most difficult to express in language and was therefore among the last to find an unambiguous term. Classical Latin
Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into Late Latin. In some later period ...
used ''invidia'', without strictly differentiating between envy and jealousy. It was not until the postclassical era that Latin borrowed the late and poetic Greek word ''zelotypia'' and the associated adjective ''zelosus''. It is from this adjective that are derived French ''jaloux'', Provençal ''gelos'', Italian ''geloso'', and Spanish ''celoso''.[Lloyd, R. (1995). Closer & Closer Apart: Jealousy in Literature. Ithaca, NY: ]Cornell University Press
The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University; currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, making it the first university publishing enterprise in t ...
.
Perhaps the overlapping use of jealousy and envy occurs because people can experience both at the same time. A person may envy the characteristics or possessions of someone who also happens to be a romantic rival.
In fact, one may even interpret romantic jealousy as a form of envy.
[Kristjansson, K. (2002). Justifying Emotions: Pride and Jealousy.] A jealous person may envy the affection that their partner gives to a rival – affection the jealous person feels entitled to himself or herself. People often use the word jealousy as a broad label that applies to both experiences of jealousy and experiences of envy.
Although popular culture often uses jealousy and envy as synonyms, modern philosophers and psychologists have argued for conceptual distinctions between jealousy and envy. For example, philosopher
John Rawls
John Bordley Rawls (; February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American moral, legal and political philosopher in the liberal tradition. Rawls received both the Schock Prize for Logic and Philosophy and the National Humanities Medal in ...
[Rawls, J. (1971). ]A Theory of Justice
''A Theory of Justice'' is a 1971 work of political philosophy and ethics by the philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002) in which the author attempts to provide a moral theory alternative to utilitarianism and that addresses the problem of distributi ...
. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. distinguishes between jealousy and envy on the ground that jealousy involves the wish to keep what one has, and envy the wish to get what one does not have. Thus, a child is jealous of her parents' attention to a sibling, but envious of her friend's new bicycle. Psychologists Laura Guerrero and Peter Andersen have proposed the same distinction.
[Guerrero, L.K., & Andersen, P.A. (1998). The dark side of jealousy and envy: desire, delusion, desperation, and destructive communication. In W.R. Cupach and B.H. Spitzberg (Eds.), The Dark Side of Close Relationships, (pp. ). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.] They claim the jealous person "perceives that he or she possesses a valued relationship, but is in danger of losing it or at least of having it altered in an undesirable manner," whereas the envious person "does not possess a valued commodity, but wishes to possess it." Gerrod Parrott draws attention to the distinct thoughts and feelings that occur in jealousy and envy.
[Parrott, W.G. (1992). The emotional experiences of envy and jealousy. In P. Salovey (Ed.), The Psychology of Jealousy and Envy (pp. 3–29). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.]
The common experience of jealousy for many people may involve:
:* Fear of loss
:* Suspicion of or anger about a perceived betrayal
:* Low self-esteem and sadness over perceived loss
:* Uncertainty and loneliness
:* Fear of losing an important person to another
:* Distrust
The experience of envy involves:
:* Feelings of inferiority
:* Longing
:* Resentment of circumstances
:* Ill will towards envied person often accompanied by guilt about these feelings
:* Motivation to improve
:* Desire to possess the attractive rival's qualities
:* Disapproval of feelings
:* Sadness towards other's accomplishments
Parrott acknowledges that people can experience envy and jealousy at the same time. Feelings of envy about a rival can even intensify the experience of jealousy.
Still, the differences between envy and jealousy in terms of thoughts and feelings justify their distinction in philosophy and science.
In psychology
Jealousy involves an entire "emotional episode," including a complex "narrative", which are the circumstances that lead up to jealousy, jealousy itself as emotion, any attempt at
self regulation, subsequent actions and events and the resolution of the episode. The narrative can originate from experienced facts, thoughts, perceptions, memories, but also imagination, guesses and assumptions. The more society and culture matter in the formation of these factors, the more jealousy can have a social and cultural origin. By contrast, jealousy can be a "cognitively impenetrable state", where education and rational belief matter very little.
One possible explanation of the origin of jealousy in
evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach in psychology that examines cognition and behavior from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify human psychological adaptations with regards to the ancestral problems they evol ...
is that the emotion evolved in order to maximize the success of our genes: it is a biologically based emotion selected to foster the certainty about the paternity of one's own offspring. A jealous behavior, in men, is directed into avoiding sexual betrayal and a consequent waste of resources and effort in taking care of someone else's offspring. There are, additionally, cultural or social explanations of the origin of jealousy. According to one, the narrative from which jealousy arises can be in great part made by the imagination. Imagination is strongly affected by a person's cultural milieu. The pattern of reasoning, the way one perceives situations, depends strongly on cultural context. It has elsewhere been suggested that jealousy is in fact a secondary emotion in reaction to one's needs not being met, be those needs for attachment, attention, reassurance or any other form of care that would be otherwise expected to arise from that primary romantic relationship.
While mainstream psychology considers
sexual arousal through jealousy a
paraphilia
Paraphilia (previously known as sexual perversion and sexual deviation) is the experience of intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as sexual interest in anything ot ...
, some authors on sexuality have argued that jealousy in manageable dimensions can have a definite positive effect on
sexual function Sexual function is how the body reacts in different stages of the sexual response cycle, or as a result of sexual dysfunction. Relevant aspects of sexual function are defined on the basis of a modified version of Masters and Johnson's work. The aspe ...
and sexual satisfaction. Studies have also shown that jealousy sometimes heightens passion towards partners and increases the intensity of passionate sex.
[Pines, A. (1992). ''Romantic jealousy: Understanding and conquering the shadow of love''. New York: St. Martin's Press.]
Jealousy in children and teenagers has been observed more often in those with low self-esteem and can evoke aggressive reactions. One such study suggested that developing intimate friends can be followed by emotional insecurity and loneliness in some children when those intimate friends interact with others. Jealousy is linked to aggression and low self-esteem. Research by Sybil Hart, PhD, at Texas Tech University indicates that children are capable of feeling and displaying jealousy at as young as six months. Infants showed signs of distress when their mothers focused their attention on a lifelike doll. This research could explain why children and infants show distress when a sibling is born, creating the foundation for sibling rivalry.
In addition to traditional jealousy comes
Obsessive Jealousy, which can be a form of
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This jealousy is characterized by obsessional jealousy and thoughts of the partner.
In sociology
Anthropologists have claimed that jealousy varies across cultures.
Cultural learning
Cultural learning is the way a group of people or animals within a society or culture tend to learn and pass on information. Learning styles are greatly influenced by how a culture socializes with its children and young people. Cross-cultural res ...
can influence the situations that trigger jealousy and the manner in which jealousy is expressed. Attitudes toward jealousy can also change within a culture over time. For example, attitudes toward jealousy changed substantially during the 1960s and 1970s in the United States. People in the United States adopted much more negative views about jealousy. As men and women became more equal it became less appropriate or acceptable to express jealousy.
Romantic jealousy
Romantic jealousy arises as a result of romantic interest.
It is defined as “''a complex of thoughts, feelings, and actions that follow threats to self-esteem and/or threats to the existence or quality of the relationship when those threats are generated by the perception of a real or potential romantic attraction between one's partner and a (perhaps imaginary) rival.''” Different from sexual jealousy, romantic jealousy is triggered by threats to self and relationship (rather than sexual interest in another person). Factors, such as feelings of inadequacy as a partner, sexual exclusivity, and having put relatively more effort into the relationship, are positively correlated to relationship jealousy in both genders.
Communicative responses
As romantic jealousy is a complicated reaction that has multiple components, i.e., thoughts, feelings, and actions, one aspect of romantic jealousy that is under study is communicative responses. Communicative responses serve three critical functions in a romantic relationship, i.e., reducing uncertainty, maintaining or repairing relationship, and restoring self-esteem.
If done properly, communicative responses can lead to more satisfying relationships after experiencing romantic jealousy.
There are two subsets of communicative responses: interactive responses and general behavior responses. Interactive responses is face-to-face and partner-directed while general behavior responses may not occur interactively.
Guerrero and colleagues further categorize multiple types of communicative responses of romantic jealousy. Interactive responses can be broken down to six types falling in different places on continua of threat and directness:
* Avoidance/
Denial
Denial, in ordinary English usage, has at least three meanings: asserting that any particular statement or allegation is not true (which might be accurate or inaccurate); the refusal of a request; and asserting that a true statement is not true. ...
(low threat and low directness). ''Example: becoming silent; pretending nothing is wrong.''
* Integrative Communication (low threat and high directness). ''Example: explaining feelings; calmly questioning partner.''
* Active Distancing (medium threat and medium directness). ''Example: decreasing affection.''
* Negative Affect Expression (medium threat and medium directness). ''Example: venting frustration; crying or sulking.''
* Distributive Communication (high threat and high directness). ''Example: acting rude; making hurtful or abrasive comments.''
* Violent Communication/
Threat
A threat is a communication of intent to inflict harm or loss on another person. Intimidation is a tactic used between conflicting parties to make the other timid or psychologically insecure for coercion or control. The act of intimidation for co ...
s (high threat and high directness). ''Example: using physical force.''
Guerrero and colleagues have also proposed five general behavior responses. The five sub-types differ in whether a response is 1) directed at partner or rival(s), 2) directed at discovery or repair, and 3) positively or negatively valenced:
* Surveillance/ Restriction (rival-targeted, discovery-oriented, commonly negatively valenced). ''Example: observing rival; trying to restrict contact with partner.''
* Rival Contacts (rival-targeted, discovery-oriented/repair-oriented, commonly negatively valenced). ''Example: confronting rival.''
* Manipulation Attempts (partner-targeted, repair-oriented, negatively valenced). ''Example: tricking partner to test loyalty; trying to make partner feel guilty.''
* Compensatory Restoration (partner-targeted, repair-oriented, commonly positively valenced). ''Example: sending flowers to partner.''
* Violent Behavior (-, -, negatively valenced). ''Example: slamming doors.''
While some of these communicative responses are destructive and aggressive, e.g., distributive communication and active distancing, some individuals respond to jealousy in a more constructive way. Integrative communication, compensatory restoration, and negative affect expression have been shown to lead to positive relation outcomes. One factor that affects the type of communicative responses elicited in an individual is emotions. Jealousy anger is associated with more aggressive communicative response while irritation tends to lead to more constructive communicative behaviors.
Researchers also believe that when jealousy is experienced it can be caused by differences in understanding the commitment level of the couple, rather than directly being caused by biology alone. The research identified that if a person valued long-term relationships more than being sexually exclusive, those individuals were more likely to demonstrate jealousy over emotional rather than physical infidelity.
Through a study conducted in three Spanish-Speaking countries, it was determined that Facebook jealousy also exists. This Facebook jealousy ultimately leads to increased relationship jealousy and study participants also displayed decreased self esteem as a result of the Facebook jealousy.
Sexual jealousy
![Jealousy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Jealousy.png)
Sexual jealousy may be triggered when a person's partner displays sexual interest in another person.
The feeling of jealousy may be just as powerful if one partner suspects the other is guilty of
infidelity
Infidelity (synonyms include cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional and/or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, sexual jealousy, and ri ...
. Fearing that their partner will experience sexual jealousy the person who has been unfaithful may lie about their actions in order to protect their partner. Experts often believe that sexual jealousy is in fact a biological imperative. It may be part of a mechanism by which humans and other animals ensure access to the best reproductive partners.
It seems that male jealousy in heterosexual relationships may be influenced by their female partner's phase in her
menstrual cycle. In the period around and shortly before ovulation, males are found to display more mate-retention tactics, which are linked to jealousy. Furthermore, a male is more likely to employ mate-retention tactics if their partner shows more interest in other males, which is more likely to occur in the pre-
ovulation
Ovulation is the release of eggs from the ovaries. In women, this event occurs when the ovarian follicles rupture and release the secondary oocyte ovarian cells. After ovulation, during the luteal phase, the egg will be available to be fertilize ...
phase.
Contemporary views on gender-based differences
According to Rebecca L. Ammon in ''The Osprey Journal of Ideas and Inquiry at UNF Digital Commons'' (2004), the Parental Investment Model based on
parental investment theory posits that more men than women ratify sex differences in jealousy. In addition, more women over men consider emotional infidelity (fear of abandonment) as more distressing than sexual infidelity. According to the attachment theory, sex and attachment style makes significant and unique interactive contributions to the distress experienced. Security within the relationship also heavily contributes to one's level of distress. These findings imply that psychological and cultural mechanisms regarding sex differences may play a larger role than expected. The attachment theory also claims to reveal how infants' attachment patterns are the basis for self-report measures of adult attachment. Although there are no sex differences in childhood attachment, individuals with dismissing behavior were more concerned with the sexual aspect of relationships. As a coping mechanism these individuals would report sexual infidelity as more harmful. Moreover, research shows that audit attachment styles strongly conclude with the type of infidelity that occurred. Thus psychological and cultural mechanisms are implied as unvarying differences in jealousy that play a role in sexual attachment.
In 1906, ''
The American Journal of Psychology
The ''American Journal of Psychology'' is a journal devoted primarily to experimental psychology. It is the first such journal to be published in the English language (though ''Mind'', founded in 1876, published some experimental psychology earl ...
'' had reported that "the weight of quotable (male) authority is to the effect that women are more susceptible to jealousy". This claim was accompanied in the journal by a quote from
Confucius
Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...
: "The five worst maladies that afflict the female mind are indocility, discontent, slander, jealousy and silliness."
Emotional jealousy was predicted to be nine times more responsive in females than in males. The emotional jealousy predicted in females also held turn to state that females experiencing emotional jealousy are more violent than men experiencing emotional jealousy.
There are distinct emotional responses to gender differences in romantic relationships. For example, due to
paternity
Paternity may refer to:
*Father, the male parent of a (human) child
*Paternity (law), fatherhood as a matter of law
* ''Paternity'' (film), a 1981 comedy film starring Burt Reynolds
* "Paternity" (''House''), a 2004 episode of the television seri ...
uncertainty in males, jealousy increases in males over sexual infidelity rather than emotional. According to research more women are likely to be upset by signs of resource withdraw (i.e. another female) than by sexual infidelity. A large amount of data supports this notion. However, one must consider for jealousy the life stage or experience one encounters in reference to the diverse responses to infidelity available. Research states that a componential view of jealousy consist of specific set of emotions that serve the reproductive role. However, research shows that both men and women would be equally angry and point the blame for sexual infidelity, but women would be more hurt by emotional infidelity. Despite this fact, anger surfaces when both parties involved are responsible for some type of uncontrollable behavior, sexual conduct is not exempt. Some behavior and actions are controllable such as sexual behavior. However hurt feelings are activated by relationship deviation. No evidence is known to be sexually
dimorphic in both college and adult convenience samples. The Jealousy Specific Innate Model (JSIM) proved to not be innate, but may be sensitive to situational factors. As a result, it may only activate at stages. One study discovered serious relationships are reserved for older adults rather than undergraduates. For example, it was predicted that male jealousy decreases as females reproductive values decreases.
A second possibility that the JSIM effect is not innate but is cultural. Differences have been highlighted in socio-economic status specific such as the divide between high school and collegiate individuals. Moreover, individuals of both genders were angrier and blamed their partners more for sexual infidelities but were more hurt by emotional infidelity. Jealousy is composed of lower-level emotional states (e.g., anger and hurt) which may be triggered by a variety of events, not by differences in individuals' life stage. Although research has recognized the importance of early childhood experiences for the development of competence in intimate relationships, early family environment is recently being examined as we age). Research on self-esteem and attachment theory suggest that individuals internalize early experiences within the family which subconsciously translates into their personal view of worth of themselves and the value of being close to other individuals, especially in an interpersonal relationship.
In animals
A study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, replicated jealousy studies done on humans on canines. They reported, in a paper published in PLOS ONE in 2014, that a significant number of dogs exhibited jealous behaviors when their human companions paid attention to dog-like toys, compared to when their human companions paid attention to non-social objects.
In addition, Jealousy has been speculated to be a potential factor in incidences of aggression or emotional tension in dogs. Mellissa Starling, an animal behavior consultant of the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...
, noted that "dogs are social animals and they obey a group hierarchy. Changes in the home, like the arrival of a baby, can prompt a family pet to behave differently to what one might expect."
Applications
In fiction, film, and art
Artistic depictions of jealousy occur in fiction, films, and other art forms such as painting and sculpture. Jealousy is a common theme in literature, art, theatre, and film. Often, it is presented as a demonstration of particularly deep feelings of love, rather than a destructive obsession.
A study done by Ferris, Smith, Greenberg, and Smith
looked into the way people saw dating and romantic relationships based on how many reality dating shows they watched.
People who spent a large amount of time watching these reality dating shows "endorsed" or supported the "dating attitudes" that would be shown on the show.
While the other people who do not spend time watching reality dating shows did not mirror the same ideas.
This means if someone watches a reality dating show that displays men and women reacting violently or aggressively towards their partner due to jealousy they can mirror that.
This is reflected in romantic movies as well.
Jessica R. Frampton conducted a study looking into romantic jealousy in movies. The study found that there were "230 instances of romantic jealousy were identified in the 51 top-grossing romantic comedies from 2002–2014"
Some of the films did not display romantic jealousy however, some featured many examples of romantic jealousy.
This was due to the fact that some of the top-grossing movies did not contain a rival or romantic competition.
While others such as ''Forgetting Sarah Marshall'' was said to contain "19 instances of romantic jealousy."
Out of the 230 instances 58% were reactive jealousy while 31% showed possessive jealousy.
The last 11% displayed anxious jealousy it was seen the least in all 230 cases.
Out of the 361 reactions to the jealousy found 53% were found to be "Destructive responses."
Only 19% of responses were constructive while 10% showed avoidant responses.
The last 18% were considered "rival focused responses" which lead to the finding that "there was a higher than expected number of rival-focused responses to possessive jealousy."
In religion
Jealousy in religion examines how the scriptures and teachings of various religions deal with the topic of jealousy. Religions may be compared and contrasted on how they deal with two issues: concepts of divine jealousy, and rules about the provocation and expression of human jealousy.
Cross culture
A study was done in order to cross examine jealousy among four different cultures, Ireland, Thailand, India and the United States.
These cultures were chosen to demonstrate differences in expression across cultures. The study posits that male-dominant cultures are more likely to express and reveal jealousy.
The survey found that Thais are less likely to express jealousy than the other three cultures.
This is because the men in these cultures are rewarded in a way for showing jealousy due to the fact that some women interpret it as love.
This can also be seen when watching romantic comedies when males show they are jealous of a rival or emotionally jealous women perceive it as men caring more.
See also
References
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* Lyhda, Belcher (2009). " Different Types of Jealousy" ''livestrong.com''
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Notes
Further reading
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Peter Goldie
Peter Goldie (5 November 1946 – 22 October 2011) was a British businessman and then academic philosopher with interests in ethics and aesthetics. He was the Samuel Hall Chair in Philosophy and Head of thPhilosophy Discipline Areaof thSchool of S ...
. ''The Emotions, A Philosophical Exploration'' . Oxford University Press, 2000
* W. Gerrod Parrott. ''Emotions in Social Psychology'' . Psychology Press, 2001
* Jesse J. Prinz. ''Gut Reactions: A Perceptual Theory of Emotions''.
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2004
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Jealousy among the SanghaQuoting Jeremy Hayward from his book on
Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam Trungpa ( Wylie: ''Chos rgyam Drung pa''; March 5, 1939 – April 4, 1987) was a Tibetan Buddhist meditation master and holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, the 11th of the Trungpa tülkus, a tertön, sup ...
Rinpoche ''Warrior-King of Shambhala: Remembering Chögyam Trungpa''
* Hart, S. L. & Legerstee, M. (Eds.) "Handbook of Jealousy: Theory, Research, and Multidisciplinary Approaches" . Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
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* Levy, Kenneth N., Kelly, Kristen M Feb 2010; Sex Differences in Jealousy: A Contribution From Attachment Theory Psychological Science, vol. 21: pp. 168–173
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External links
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Emotions
Narcissism
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