Abstract

This study was conducted to develop and validate the Korean version of the envy scale, which categorized envy into benign envy and malicious envy, unlike the existing ones that dealt with envy as a single factor. A series of factor analyses confirmed that the Korean Envy Scale was a 12-item self-report measure and consisted of two separate latent constructs. In detail, according to a correlation analysis conducted to verify convergent and discriminant validities, social comparison tendencies had a positive correlation with each types of envy. It was also confirmed that benign envy was positively correlated with hope of success and negatively correlated with fear of failure. In addition, results showed that inner control was positively correlated with benign envy and negatively correlated with malicious envy whereas external control was only positively correlated with malicious envy. It was also found that belief in an unjust world was negatively correlated with malicious envy. Finally, a correlation analysis using three envy-inducing scenarios properly secured the criterion-related validity of the Korean version of the envy scale. Findings of the study contributed to the development of measuring individual differences in envy deeply related to consumer behaviors and to the expansion of research on envy.