Telescopes and microscopes of motivation: Emulative goals in admiration and envy differ in abstractness and temporal orientation

Admiration and envy both stem from perceiving superior others. A recent debate centers on the motivational qualities of these emotions. Some scholars argue that, compared to admiration, envy is characterized by a stronger motivation to self-improve by emulating upward comparison standards. Mounting evidence suggests, however, that both admiration and (benign) envy can involve upward motivation. Yet, whether and how their motivational characteristics can be distinguished is unclear. We propose that emulative goals in admiration and envy differ in terms of their abstractness, explaining inconsistencies in prior research and pointing toward complementary functions of admiration and envy. In Study 1 (N = 193), participants recalled and re-experienced episodes of admiration or benign envy and listed goals elicited in these episodes. Additionally, in Study 2 (N = 416), some participants recalled episodes of malicious envy. Participants and blinded, external raters evaluated the concreteness versus abstractness of the goals. Furthermore, we assessed the goals’ temporal orientation. The results support that upward motivation in admiration is abstract and oriented toward improving in the long term, whereas upward motivation in benign envy involves specific goals and is oriented toward short-term gains. These findings suggest that admiration and envy fulfill their motivational functions in different ways.