Abstract

This study aimed to examine the hypothesis that intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental self-awareness would alleviate the association between sSchadenfreude and cyberbullying. 300 middle and high school students answered survey questionnaires including sSchadenfreude, cyberbullying behavior, (intrapersonal. interpersonal, and environmental) self-awareness, depression, and anxiety. After controlling depression and anxiety, theThe results reveal that first, Schadenfreude predicts cyberbullying behavior, so those who have a high level of Schadenfreude commit more online cyberbullying behavior. Second, intrapersonal and interpersonal self-awareness moderated the association between schadenfreude and cyberbullying, and those who were above average on intrapersonal and interpersonal self-awareness were more liable to commit cyberbullying, but those below average did not show a significant moderation effect. Third, whereas environmental self-awareness did not show a significant moderation effect. Specifically, those who know well what they think and do and what they look like in interpersonal relationships perpetrate more cyberbullying when their schadenfreude was high. However, knowing well about what was happening around them was not related to the likelihood of schadenfreude that lead to cyberbullying. The results of this study revealed that Schadenfreude, which deals with emotions on expecting the misfortune of others and the possibility of having antisocial characteristics, lead to actual cyberbullying behaviors of adolescents. Also, this study identified that intrapersonal and interpersonal self-awareness are harmful in causing cyberbullying in those with high Schadenfreude. Finally, the implication and the limitation of this study were discussed.