Emotional Dynamics of Social Comparisons: Nonlinear Relationships Between Comparison Extremity and Social Emotions, and Their Motivational Functioning

In an experience-sampling study, we examined how emotions stemming from social comparisons influence daily motivation. Analyzing 2,976 daily real-world social comparisons, we examined the interplay of comparison direction (upward vs. downward) and extremity (from moderate to extreme), two pleasant emotions (schadenfreude and happy-for-ness), two unpleasant emotions (benign envy, malicious envy), three motivational tendencies (pushing, coasting, and disengagement), and effort intentions. The relationships between comparison extremity and emotions were characterized by nonlinearity: Benign envy and happy-for-ness peaked with moderate upward comparisons, whereas malicious envy and schadenfreude increased especially with extreme upward and downward comparisons. Concerning motivational functioning, results suggest that benign envy and happy-for-ness promote motivation (i.e., associated with pushing and effort), whereas malicious envy and schadenfreude do not (i.e., linked to disengagement and coasting), with effects contingent on comparison extremity. This work emphasizes how distinct social emotions emerge as a function of social comparison extremity and their dynamic role in everyday motivation.