Revenge is a an act of aggression designed to harm someone perceived to have insulted, threatened, transgressed, or perpetrated harm.
In this context, the related term, vengeance, refers to retribution for an injury or wrongful act.
The desire for revenge, the urge to retaliate, appears as a universal response to cause a perpetrator to suffer for perceived harm. The desire to revenge appears in children age by about age nine.
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Revenge fantasies are common in people of all ages. Limor Goldner and her colleagues (2019) reviewed studies and concluded "
"...the desire for revenge and revenge fantasies serve as a form of narcissistic repair after experiences of harm and transgression while enabling acceptance and redefinition, encouraging progression, and reinforcing ego stability..."
Goldner and her team discussed the results of their study of the desire for revenge, revenge fantasies, trauma, and injustice. Here's part of their conclusion:
The results of the present study revealed positive associations between feelings of injustice and the desire for revenge, and between the latter and revenge fantasies. However, there was no direct link between the number of experienced traumatic events and the desire for revenge and revenge fantasies. Nevertheless, the mediation models showed that when participants had feelings of injustice they tended to indicate a desire for revenge, fantasies of revenge, and the perception that revenge fantasies were helpful in their healing process, which may encourage them to remedy the injustice caused to them. Thus, the level of feelings of injustice rather than the number of traumatic events may function as an internal mechanism for the development of the desire for revenge and its accompanying fantasies.
Gender differences. In addition, the Goldner team identified gender differences.
Women felt more injustice that men.
Men had greater revenge fantasies than women.
Women considered revenge as pointless despite reporting a history of more sexual abuse and feelings of injustice.
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"Sweet" feelings
Chester and Martelli (2020) reviewed research on revenge and note that there is often a positive feeling associated with getting revenge against a perpetrator. They cite research that associated retaliatory aggression with the dopamine and opioid brain centers. Sociocultural factors include media stories and public approval of stories about payback for acts of violence.
Acts of revenge against similar innocent persons who look like the perpetrator(s) can produce satisfaction.
The inhibition of retaliatory aggression depends to some extent on the presence of self-regulation and self-control.
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Feeling bad and feeling good
During brain scans, the dorsal striatum was active in participants considering getting revenge.
The research does not support the notion that revenge is cathartic. Instead, levels of aggression are higher in people who vent their anger.
Experimental evidence in a "free rider" study revealed that those who punished felt worse than predicted and worse in comparison to those who did not punish the free rider. In his summary, Jaffe (2011) wrote the following.
All told, Carlsmith and company concluded in a 2008 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, people erroneously believe revenge will make them feel better and help them gain closure, when in actuality punishers ruminate on their deed and feel worse than those who cannot avenge a wrong.
“I think uncertainty prolongs and enhances emotional experiences, and one of the things that avengers do unintentionally is to prolong the unpleasant encounter,” Carlsmith says. “Those who don’t have a chance to take revenge are forced, in a sense, to move on and focus on something different. And they feel happier.”
Mario Gollwitzer and his colleagues (2011) studied conditions that might lead to an act of revenge feeling good. Their findings indicated to feel satisfied, the person taking revenge needs to know that the act of revenge was connected to the provocative action.
The cycle of revenge is difficult to break because of varied perspectives on the aggressive acts. Jaffe (2011) refers to work by Arlene Stillwell and her team as follows.
“Successful revenge appears to make the avengers feel satisfied that equity has been restored, but in many cases the recipient of revenge will perceive the aftermath of revenge as marked by inequity and negative out comes,” Stillwell and her coauthors conclude in a 2008 issue of Basic and Applied Social Psychology. “The divergent perceptions of avenger and recipient will make it difficult to bring an end to the cycle of revenge in a way that both avenger and recipient will regard as satisfying, positive, and fair.”
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References
Chester, D.S., & Martelli, A.M. (2020). Why revenge sometimes feels so good. In E. L. Worthington & N. Wade (Eds.), Handbook of forgiveness:2nd ed. (pp. 43-51). Routledge.
Goldner, L., Lev-Wiesel, R., & Simon, G. (2019). Revenge fantasies after experiencing traumatic events: Sex differences. Frontiers in Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00886/full https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00886
Jaffe, E. (2011, October 4). The complicated psychology of revenge. Observer. Retrieved from https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/the-complicated-psychology-of-revenge
Measurement
Transgression Related Interpersonal Motivations TRIM
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