RESEARCH_FILE
Peter Salovey
Yale University
Known for:Pioneer of jealousy and envy research, distinguishing the two constructs empirically and establishing that social comparison processes and domain-specific self-esteem are central drivers of romantic jealousy intensity
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“That person is more attractive than me — I can see why they'd choose them”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“I filled in the blanks with my worst guess.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
Look at the image or memory that triggered the thought. On a blank note, write three facts you actually know, three guesses you made, and one detail about your own presence that the comparison ignored. Keep it private and stop there.
Key findings
- 1985
With Judith Rodin, Salovey demonstrated that jealousy and envy are empirically distinct — jealousy involves a threat to a valued relationship, envy involves wanting what another has — and that jealousy intensity is predicted not by the rival's global attractiveness but by the rival's superiority in the specific domain where the jealous person feels most self-consciously inadequate. The differentiation of social-comparison jealousy and romantic jealousy ↗