APA Citation
Crusius, J., Gonzalez, M., Lange, J., & Cohen-Charash, Y. (2017). Envy: An adversarial review and comparison of two competing views. *Emotion Review*, 9(1), 3-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073916652455
Summary
This comprehensive review examines two competing psychological theories of envy: benign envy (which motivates self-improvement) versus malicious envy (which seeks to harm others). The authors analyze how envy functions differently depending on whether individuals believe they can improve their own situation. The research reveals that malicious envy emerges when people feel unable to match another's advantages, leading to destructive behaviors aimed at bringing others down rather than building themselves up.
Why This Matters for Survivors
Understanding envy helps survivors recognize the toxic dynamics they experienced. Narcissistic abusers often display malicious envy, targeting partners' success, relationships, or happiness with sabotage rather than healthy competition. This research validates survivors' experiences of being torn down when they achieved something positive, helping them understand this wasn't about their worth but about their abuser's psychological limitations.
What This Research Establishes
Envy operates through two distinct pathways: benign envy that motivates self-improvement versus malicious envy that seeks to harm or diminish others who possess desired advantages.
The type of envy depends on perceived control: when individuals believe they can improve their situation, they experience benign envy; when they feel unable to match another’s advantages, malicious envy emerges.
Malicious envy drives destructive behaviors: rather than focusing on self-improvement, individuals experiencing malicious envy engage in sabotage, undermining, and attempts to bring others down to their level.
Social comparison threats intensify malicious responses: when someone’s success highlights another person’s limitations or threatens their self-image, the likelihood of malicious rather than benign envy increases significantly.
Why This Matters for Survivors
This research provides crucial validation for survivors who experienced systematic sabotage during positive moments in their lives. Many survivors describe how their achievements, career progress, or personal growth were met not with celebration but with increased conflict, undermining, or outright sabotage from their abusive partner.
Understanding malicious envy helps explain why narcissistic abusers often target their partners’ strengths and successes. Rather than being motivated to improve themselves, they feel threatened by their partner’s advantages and seek to diminish them instead. This wasn’t about your worth or the validity of your achievements.
The research illuminates why abusers often create crises during important milestones—graduations, promotions, family celebrations. These moments trigger malicious envy because they highlight the abuser’s inability to genuinely compete or celebrate others’ success, leading to destructive attempts to regain psychological superiority.
Recognizing these patterns helps survivors understand that the consistent undermining they experienced was a reflection of their abuser’s psychological limitations, not evidence that they were “too much” or should have diminished themselves to keep the peace.
Clinical Implications
Therapists should help clients differentiate between normal relationship challenges and patterns of malicious envy-driven abuse. When clients report consistent sabotage following personal achievements, this may indicate narcissistic abuse rather than typical relationship conflict requiring compromise.
Assessment should explore the client’s relationship with their own success and achievements. Survivors of envy-based abuse often develop anxiety around personal accomplishments or feel guilty about their strengths, having learned to associate success with increased danger or conflict.
Treatment should focus on validating the client’s right to achievements and helping them recognize malicious envy patterns in their relationships. Psychoeducation about these dynamics can reduce self-blame and support the client’s understanding of the abuse they experienced.
Recovery work should include rebuilding the client’s comfort with their own success and helping them develop healthy boundaries around sharing achievements. Some survivors need support in learning to celebrate their accomplishments without fear of retaliation or sabotage.
How This Research Is Used in the Book
This research supports the book’s exploration of how narcissistic individuals handle threats to their grandiose self-image through destructive rather than constructive responses. The distinction between benign and malicious envy helps explain the systematic nature of narcissistic abuse.
“When Sarah received a promotion at work, she expected David to be proud of her achievement. Instead, he became increasingly critical, started arguments before important work events, and eventually convinced her that her success was creating problems in their relationship. What Sarah didn’t understand then was that David’s response wasn’t about their relationship—it was about his inability to tolerate her having something he lacked. His malicious envy drove him to sabotage rather than celebrate, to diminish rather than support. This pattern of tearing down instead of building up is a hallmark of narcissistic abuse.”
Historical Context
This 2017 review appeared during a period of growing scholarly and public interest in toxic relationship dynamics and emotional abuse. The research synthesized decades of envy studies at a time when understanding of narcissistic abuse was expanding beyond clinical settings into mainstream awareness. The authors’ framework provided valuable tools for distinguishing between healthy competition and destructive envy-driven behaviors.
Further Reading
• Lange, J., & Crusius, J. (2015). Dispositional envy revisited: Unraveling the motivational dynamics of benign and malicious envy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 41(2), 284-294.
• Smith, R. H., & Kim, S. H. (2007). Comprehending envy. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 46-64.
• Van de Ven, N., Zeelenberg, M., & Pieters, R. (2009). Leveling up and down: The experiences of benign and malicious envy. Emotion, 9(3), 419-429.
About the Author
Jan Crusius is a social psychologist at the University of Cologne specializing in social comparison processes and emotions. His research focuses on how upward comparisons affect behavior and well-being.
Marcela F. Gonzalez studies organizational psychology with emphasis on workplace emotions and interpersonal dynamics at the University of South Florida.
Jens Lange researches social emotions and their behavioral consequences at the University of Cologne, particularly focusing on envy and resentment.
Yochi Cohen-Charash is a professor at Baruch College studying organizational justice, emotions, and social comparison processes in workplace and interpersonal contexts.
Historical Context
Published in 2017, this review synthesized decades of envy research during a period of growing interest in toxic behaviors and emotional abuse. The distinction between benign and malicious envy became increasingly relevant for understanding destructive relationship patterns and workplace dynamics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Benign envy motivates self-improvement when someone has something you want. Malicious envy seeks to harm or diminish the other person instead of improving yourself.
Narcissistic individuals often can't tolerate others having advantages they lack, leading them to sabotage rather than compete fairly or celebrate their partner's success.
Through sabotaging partners' achievements, undermining their confidence, isolating them from supportive relationships, or creating crises during important moments.
Yes, the same person can experience benign envy in some situations and malicious envy in others, depending on whether they believe improvement is possible.
Look for patterns where your successes were consistently undermined, minimized, or followed by increased conflict or sabotage from your abuser.
Threats to their sense of superiority, others' achievements that highlight their limitations, or situations where they can't compete through legitimate means.
Recognize that the sabotage wasn't about your worth but about their psychological limitations. This knowledge can aid healing and future relationship awareness.
Yes, therapy can help survivors understand these dynamics, process the trauma of being systematically undermined, and rebuild confidence in their achievements.