Social Contexts of Envy in Everyday Interactions: Qualitative Study of Students

Emotions has crucial role in human personal and social life. Envy as a human emotion, has important consequences for social interactions. Emotions cannot be understood without some attention to the social forces that influence them. Emotions reflect the norms, attitudes, and values of groups as well as individuals; they are useful and dangerous for groups as well as individuals. Envy is one of the most pervasive human emotions that observed in all societies and experienced when person compared himself with others and found himself with lower position and opportunities. This experience that is mainly negative, have social consequences and influenced by social interactions and structures. Envy same to other human emotions, is socially constructed and shaped by social forces. The aim of this inquiry was to explore the student’s understanding and interpretation of envy and the social contexts and forces from their view of point.
Material & The research done in qualitative approach, and used grounded theory as research strategy and data analysis method. The research field was Yazd University and the population include students from different fields of study including humanities, engineering and basic sciences. Sample selected by Purposive sampling method for identifying interviewees and theoretical sampling used to determining the number of participants. Participant Students selected from different characteristics (gender, age, education, Socio-economic status) to have the maximum diversity. Theoretical sampling also used to achieving theoretical saturation. Data gathered by semi-structured interview were conducted with 40 male and female students. The results trustworthiness evaluated by 4 criteria including credibility, dependability, Conformability, Transformability as alternatives to the classical criteria of validity and reliability. Member Check, Analytical Comparison and Auditing used to assess findings credibility. In order to meet the criterion of transferability, the research field thoroughly be described. For assessing dependability, all interviews and data analysis process saved and in order to be necessary, could be provided to inspectors. To achieve criterion Conformability, Results Analysis and Theory derived from data analysis were compared with raw data to confirm the results by the data. The research data analyzed by theoretical coding in three levels include open, axial and selective coding.
Discussion of Results & During coding process, meaningful concepts and categories extracted from data and research theoretical model emerged finally. After doing open, axial and selective coding, 8 categories emerged. Main categories include deprivation risk, inequality, materialism, media, social comparison, learned envy, Evaluation of justice and Personal traits. “social motivation of envy” emerged as core category. Based on the views of Participants, different social contexts involved in motivating of envy. Inequality and materialism are social factors of the macro-level and structural conditions that creates envy. Inequality, sense of discrimination and Class difference lead to sense of deprivation among social actors. Also materialist value orientation and sense of Deprivation of privileges in compare to others cause envy. Media stimulating content and learned envy at the micro level, can be motivate envy in social interactions. Mass media, specially Television can be motivate social comparison, and presents inequalities, and Teaching the rules of envy In different positions. Personal traits Such as self-esteem and confidence and life satisfaction as intervening conditions increase the effect of structural and causal conditions on envy. Deprivation risk was a crucial phenomenon that envious persons encountered by it before experience envy. Persons at opposite deprivation risk they do strategies social comparison and evaluation of justice that can impulses social envy. In fact persons faced with the phenomenon deprivation risk, Fair or unfair pay the assessment of their deprivation compared with others and if their deprivation Assess unfair, become envious towards others. Finally according to main categories, paradigm model designed that consists of conditions, action-interactions and outcomes. According to research findings, envy experienced as a negative emotion in reaction to sense of inequality and deprivation. Learned envy was another important aspect of envy that revealed through socialization in family and society. Family and mass media has important role in teaching envy to persons.