Abstract

Schadenfreude is the pleasure of other's misfortunes. This article describes the validation of the Schadenfreude Tendency Scale(STS) among Korean adults, which was originally developed for adolescents. In Study 1, 1) twelve psychologists were asked to evaluate the suitability of each item of the STS, 2) the STS, questions and scenario containing various Schadenfreude situations(aversion, injustice, identification, compensation, aggression, rivalry, justice) administered to 99 college and graduate students. As a result, it was confirmed that the STS consists of questions that can measure the Schadenfreude for adults. In study 2, 330 people participated to investigate the STS’s reliability and validity and the relations between the STS and related scales(envy, empathic happiness, sympathy, depression, satisfaction with life). Results from study 2 indicate that the STS has a single-factor structure and good internal consistency. When controlling for age, there was a significant difference in the level of Schadenfreude based on number of siblings. The unemployed’s Schadenfreude score tended to be relatively higher than other occupational statuses. When controlling for age and social desirability, the STS was significantly correlated with other measures of envy, empathic happiness, and sympathy confirming the scale’s discriminant construct validity. Schadenfreude was significantly correlated with higher level of depression and there was no significant correlation with life satisfaction. In the discussion section, the implications and limitations of this study and suggestions for future research are discussed.