Keeping status: How superiors infer benign and malicious envy of subordinates and regulate it interpersonally

该项目的目的是测试情绪在地位等级的人际调节中的作用。地位是通过获得尊重或恐吓他人来获得的。因此，地位等级的出现本质上是社会性的，地位高低的个体的情感动态地建立和维持等级。然而，对各种情绪在地位等级形成中的相互作用的研究仍有待于更多的实证检验。拟议的项目旨在调查上级如何（a）感知和（B）应对下级嫉妒对其级别的威胁。我预测，上级可以推断出下属的良性嫉妒（动机，以提高个人地位）和恶意嫉妒（动机，以降低地位的上级），然后会作出反应，无论是赞赏谦卑或蔑视，以调节人际关系的其他情绪。具体来说，如果一个地位高的人面对一个地位低的人，他/她可能会推断出良性嫉妒。这应该培养一种不自吹自擂的意图，引发赞赏的谦卑，从而接近行为。相反，如果一个地位高的人面对一个地位低的人，他愤怒地看着地位高的人，而牺牲了地位高的嫉妒对象，他/她可能会推断出恶意嫉妒。这应该促进对低地位的人的评价，认为他们是不道德的，引起蔑视，从而疏远行为。提出了七个实验来验证这些预测。总之，这个项目将铺平道路，以一种新的人际关系的方法来研究地位等级的出现和情绪所发挥的基本作用。

The goal of the proposed project is to test the function of emotions in the interpersonal regulation of status hierarchies. Status is attained by gaining respect or intimidating others. Therefore, the emergence of status hierarchies is inherently social with emotions of high- and low-status individuals dynamically establishing and maintaining ranks. Yet, the investigation of the interplay of various emotions in status hierarchy formation still awaits more empirical scrutiny. The proposed project aims at investigating how superiors (a) perceive and (b) react to threats to their rank by the envy of subordinates. I predict that superiors can infer benign envy (motivation to improve personal standing) and malicious envy (motivation to decrease the standing of the superior) in subordinates and will then react with either appreciative humility or contempt to interpersonally regulate the emotion of the other. Specifically, if a high-status person is confronted with a low-status person looking with disappointment at the high-status envy object at the expense of the high-status person, s/he might infer benign envy. This should foster an intention not to brag, eliciting appreciative humility, and therefore approach behavior. In contrast, if a high-status person is confronted with a low-status person looking with anger at the high-status person at the expense of the high-status envy object, s/he might infer malicious envy. This should foster evaluations of the low-status person as being immoral, eliciting contempt, and therefore distancing behavior. Seven experiments are proposed to test these predictions. In sum, this project would pave the way to a new interpersonal approach to research on the emergence of status hierarchies and the elementary role played by emotions.