Although its consequences can be devastating, revenge is surprisingly understudied. In this dissertation, I address several key questions. For example, are the factors that trigger revenge the same across different individuals? What are the psychological processes that facilitate revenge? Does revenge have any adaptive value? These issues were addressed with a series of three studies. Study 1 explored whether personality predictors of self-reported revenge generalize across four specific transgressions. Results indicated that narcissists were only vengeful after social rejection whereas psychopaths and neurotics tended to be vengeful across transgressions. Study 2 expanded on these results by exploring trait-level vengeful fantasies and vengeful behaviors and the impact of a potential mediator, namely, anger rumination. Neuroticism was shown to be predictive of vengeful fantasies: This association was entirely mediated by anger rumination. Psychopathy predicted vengeful behavior: This association was partially mediated by vengeful fantasies. Study 3 involved the analysis of participants' personal anecdotes about how they reacted to transgressions against them. Coded variables included revenge as well as 10 other coping behaviors: These 11 predictors were then evaluated with respect to their impact on both immediate relief and long-term recovery. Although the revenge option fostered immediate relief, it did not benefit long-term recovery. Only one coping behavior (meaning-making) actually fostered recovery. The contributions and limitations of this research plus suggestions for future studies are discussed.

Although its consequences can be devastating, revenge is surprisingly understudied. In this dissertation, I address several key questions. For example, are the factors that trigger revenge the same across different individuals? What are the psychological processes that facilitate revenge? Does revenge have any adaptive value? These issues were addressed with a series of three studies. Study 1 explored whether personality predictors of self-reported revenge generalize across four specific transgressions. Results indicated that narcissists were only vengeful after social rejection whereas psychopaths and neurotics tended to be vengeful across transgressions. Study 2 expanded on these results by exploring trait-level vengeful fantasies and vengeful behaviors and the impact of a potential mediator, namely, anger rumination. Neuroticism was shown to be predictive of vengeful fantasies: This association was entirely mediated by anger rumination. Psychopathy predicted vengeful behavior: This association was partially mediated by vengeful fantasies. Study 3 involved the analysis of participants' personal anecdotes about how they reacted to transgressions against them. Coded variables included revenge as well as 10 other coping behaviors: These 11 predictors were then evaluated with respect to their impact on both immediate relief and long-term recovery. Although the revenge option fostered immediate relief, it did not benefit long-term recovery. Only one coping behavior (meaning-making) actually fostered recovery. The contributions and limitations of this research plus suggestions for future studies are discussed.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of English, 1972.

Although its consequences can be devastating, revenge is surprisingly understudied. In this dissertation, I address several key questions. For example, are the factors that trigger revenge the same across different individuals? What are the psychological processes that facilitate revenge? Does revenge have any adaptive value? These issues were addressed with a series of three studies. Study 1 explored whether personality predictors of self-reported revenge generalize across four specific transgressions. Results indicated that narcissists were only vengeful after social rejection whereas psychopaths and neurotics tended to be vengeful across transgressions. Study 2 expanded on these results by exploring trait-level vengeful fantasies and vengeful behaviors and the impact of a potential mediator, namely, anger rumination. Neuroticism was shown to be predictive of vengeful fantasies: This association was entirely mediated by anger rumination. Psychopathy predicted vengeful behavior: This association was partially mediated by vengeful fantasies. Study 3 involved the analysis of participants' personal anecdotes about how they reacted to transgressions against them. Coded variables included revenge as well as 10 other coping behaviors: These 11 predictors were then evaluated with respect to their impact on both immediate relief and long-term recovery. Although the revenge option fostered immediate relief, it did not benefit long-term recovery. Only one coping behavior (meaning-making) actually fostered recovery. The contributions and limitations of this research plus suggestions for future studies are discussed. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Vengeance, which is defined as the infliction of punishment or injury in return for perceived wrong, is often the reason for some of the most violent acts committed in our society. Vengeful acts are personal and often occur after the individual has had time to reflect on the acts committed against them. Generally, vengeful acts are more intense than the acts that provoked them. This study estimates vengeance propensity with the Vengeance Scale (Stuckless and Goranson, 1992). The scale consists of20 self-report questions that assess attitudes toward vengeance. Existing research suggests a few isolated personality factors that may relate to vengeance propensity, but it does not appear that previous research has explored the interaction of multiple personality predictors on the Vengeance Scale through the use of regression modeling. In the current study, numerous personality factors were assessed using the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991) in 28 university students (68% female). Linear regression with backward modeling was used to examine which of 17 PAI scales (raw scores) accounted for the most variance in the Vengeance Scale raw score. Results indicated that a combination of seven scales accounted for the most variance in the Vengeance Scale (adjusted R2 = .53; F(7,20) = 5 .30, p = .002). The seven scales that remained in this final model, along with standardized coefficients, were: Anxiety (-.99), Anxiety Related Disorders (.77), Mania (.49), Antisocial (.38), Nonsupport (-.46), Dominance (-.33), and Warmth (-.74). Further confirmatory research will be helpful in clarifying this derived model.

In this paper, I trace the theme of revenge across Drive (Refn, 2011) and John Wick (Leitch and Stahelski, 2014). Professor von Hallberg helped me understand these films as vehicles for understanding certain ideas. Throughout the semester I consulted the work of several literary critics to arrive at a better sense of what neo-noir is and to better understand the world of these films. Through close analysis of specific scenes, I hoped to determine what I would learn about vengeance if I lived in the world that these characters inhabit. After watching and re-watching both films several times, I went through scene by scene and observed the details that stood out to me the most. I related these to the literature I had read and suggested what each detail might mean before drawing any conclusions. Once I had completed the core analysis, I reviewed these observations and synthesized them into general claims. I affirmed that revenge was closely related to von Hallberg’s notion of “trust” as a “horizon of hope” (von Hallberg 2). In the end, it was apparent that in punishing those responsible, the protagonists of these films committed to destroying any and all “obstacles to the [re]construction of trust” (von Hallberg 5). Both protagonists are portrayed as avengers who are driven toward the destruction of “the fakery and greed of those around them” (von Hallberg 36). In these films, to extract revenge is to punish the “corrupt[t] [and] [re]buil[d] [in] a world governed by self-interest” (von Hallberg 36).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Princeton University, 1926. / With reproduction of t.p. of 1629 edition. Bibliography: p. 157-[161].

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Princeton University, 1926. / With reproduction of t.p. of 1629 edition. Bibliography: p. 157-[161].

Research on revenge often treats vengeful acts as singular one-way experiences, an approach which fails to account for the social nature and functions of revenge. This dissertation aims to integrate emotional punishment reactions into dynamic revenge sequences to investigate the affective and cognitive consequences of revenge within a social interaction. Exacting revenge can evoke intense affective consequences, from feelings of guilt to the genuine enjoyment of the suffering of others. In Chapter 2, affective responses towards suffering opponents and the regulation of aggression based on the appraisal of distinct suffering indicators were investigated. Results indicate that the observation of opponent pain evokes positive affect (measured via facial muscle contractions during the observation), which is followed by a downregulation of subsequent punishment. Both, positive affective reactions and the downregulation of punishment, were only observed following pain and not sadness expressions. Empathic distress, indexed by negative affective reactions, was only present following the observation of pain in non-provoking opponents. Showcasing the modulation of empathy related processes due to provocation and competition. In Chapter 3, a significant escalation of punishment, when being confronted with Schadenfreude, was observed. Results are interpreted as supporting the assumption that opponent monitoring processes inform subsequent action selection. The observation of opponent smiles led to imitation behavior (facial mimicry), which was partially attenuated due to previous provocation. The different functions of smile mimicry in the context of the aggressive competitive setting are discussed as containing simulation aspects (to aid in opponent understanding) and as a potential mirroring of dominance gestures, to avoid submission. In an additional series of studies, which are presented in Chapter 4, changes in memory of opponent faces following vengeful encounters were measured. Based on provocation, and punishment outcomes (pain & anger), face memory was distorted, resulting in more positive representations of opponents that expressed pain. These results are discussed as evidence of the impact of outcome appraisals in the formation of opponent representations and are theorized to aid empathy avoidance in future interactions. The comparison of desired and observed opponent states, is theorized to result in appraisals of the punishment outcomes, which evoke affective states, inform the action selection of subsequent punishments, and are integrated into the representation of the opponent in memory. Overall, the results indicate that suffering cues that are congruent with the chosen punishment action are appraised as positive, evoking an increase in positive affect. The emergence of positive affect during the observation of successful aggressive actions supports recent theories about the chronification of aggressive behavior based on reinforcement learning. To allow positive affect to emerge, affective empathic responses, such as distress, are theorized to be suppressed to facilitate the goal attainment process. The suffering of the opponent constitutes the proximate goal during revenge taking, which highlights the importance of a theoretical differentiation of proximate and ultimate goals in revenge to allow for a deeper understanding of the underlying motives of complex revenge behavior. / Die bisherige Forschung zu den Mechanismen von Racheverhalten behandelt die Ausübung von Rache häufig als eine singuläre und unilaterale Erfahrung. Diese Herangehensweise berücksichtigt den sozialen Kontext und die Funktion von Rache nur unzureichend. Die vorliegende Dissertation zielt darauf ab, mittels empirischer Befunde emotionale Reaktionen in dynamische Rachesequenzen zu integrieren. Die Ausübung von Rache kann intensive affektive Zustände wie Schuldgefühle bis hin zu dem Empfinden von Freude über das Leid Anderer (Schadenfreude) auslösen. In Kapitel 2 werden Ergebnisse geschildert, welche die unterschiedlichen affektiven Reaktionen des Aggressors in Abhängigkeit zu Indikatoren des Leides des Gegners untersuchen. Im Rahmen der durchgeführten Studien wurde eine positive Reaktion (gemessen anhand von fazialen Muskelaktivierungen) während der Beobachtung von Schmerzausdrücken des Gegners beobachtet. Die positive affektive Reaktion geht mit einer Reduktion der darauffolgenden Strafe einher. Sowohl der positive Affekt als auch die Reduktion von Strafe wurden nur in Folge von Schmerzindikatoren und nicht nach Ausdrücken von Trauer beobachtet. Empathischer Stress nach ausgeführten Rachehandlungen, indiziert durch negative affektive Reaktionen, wurde nur gezeigt, nachdem nicht-provokative Gegner Schmerzreaktionen zeigten. Dies zeigt die Modulation von empathischen Prozessen in Abhängigkeit von Provokation und Konkurrenz. Kapitel 3 beschreibt die signifikante Eskalation von aggressiven Interaktionen durch eine Konfrontation mit Schadenfreude des Gegners während der Bestrafung. Dies lässt darauf schließen, dass die Beobachtung des Gegnerzustandes während der gesamten Interaktion die Wahl von Handlungen beeinflusst. Die Beobachtung des Lächelns beim Gegenüber führt zu Nachahmungsverhalten (faziale Mimikry), welches durch vorherige Provokation graduell abgeschwächt wird. Die verschiedenen Funktionen der Mimikry des Lächelns im Kontext einer aggressiv kompetitiven Situation enthalten Elemente von Simulation, zum besseren Verständnis der Gegnerreaktion, und dienen dazu als potenzielle Reaktion auf Dominanzverhalten Submission zu vermeiden. In einer weiteren Experimentalreihe, beschrieben in Kapitel 4, wird die Integration von erlebter Provokation und daraus resultierenden empfundenen Ärger in die Erinnerung an den Gegner demonstriert. Ergebnisse dieser Studienreine legen nahe, dass die Repräsentation des Gesichtes des Gegners in der Erinnerung basierend auf vorheriger Provokation und distinkten emotionalen gegnerischen Reaktionen auf Strafe (Schmerz & Ärger) systematisch variiert. Gegner, welche Schmerzreaktionen zeigten, wurden mit positiveren Gesichtskonfigurationen repräsentiert, im Gegensatz zu Gegnern, welche Ärger zeigten. Diese Ergebnisse werden als Belege für den Einfluss von Ergebnisbewertungen auf die Formation von Gegnerrepräsentationen und ihren potenziellen Nutzen für die Vermeidung von Empathie in zukünftigen Auseinandersetzungen diskutiert. Aus dem Abgleich zwischen dem gewünschten und beobachteten gegnerischen Reaktionen resultiert eine Bewertung des Erfolgs der Strafe. Dieser Bewertungsvorgang kann positive Affekte auslösen, die als Information in die Wahl der nächsten Handlung einfließen und die Repräsentation des Gegners in der Erinnerung verändern. Die Ergebnisse der hier dargestellten Studien deuten darauf hin, dass Signale des Leidens, die unmittelbar kongruent zu den zuvor gewählten Strafhandlungen sind, als positiv bewertet werden und somit zu einem unmittelbar erlebten positiven Affekt führen. Das Vorhandensein von positivem Affekt während der Beobachtung des leidenden Gegners nach erfolgreicher Bestrafung stimmt mit neueren Forschungsansätzen überein, die Verstärkungslernen als zentralen Prozess bei der Chronifizierung von aggressivem Verhalten postulieren. Das Auftreten von positivem Affekt wird durch die Herabsetzung von affektiv empathischen Prozessen gegenüber dem Gegner ermöglicht. Die Unterdrückung von affektiver Empathie erleichtert hierbei den Prozess der Zielerreichung. Das Leid des Gegners wird als proximales Ziel der Rachehandlung diskutiert. Eine Unterscheidung zwischen proximalen und distalen Zielen bei der Ausübung von Rache ermöglicht ein tieferes Verständnis für die zugrundeliegende Motive komplexen Racheverhaltens.

Through four hundred years of accumulated disparaging comments from critics, revenge plays have lost much of the original luster they possessed in early modern England. Surprisingly, scholarship on revenge tragedy has invented an unfavorable lens for understanding this genre, and this lens has been relentlessly parroted for decades. The conventional generic approach that calls for revenge plays to exhibit a recurring set of concerns, including a revenge motive, a hesitation for the protagonist, and the revenger’s feigned or actual madness, imply that these plays lack philosophical depth, as the appellation of revenge tends to evoke the trite commonalities which we have created for the genre. This dissertation aims to rectify the provincial views concerning revenge tragedies by providing a more complex, multivalent critical model that makes contemporary the outmoded approaches to this genre. I argue that Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of carnival, and the ways in which it engages with new historical interpretations of early modern drama, functions as a discursive methodology to open up more creative interpretative possibilities for revenge tragedy. Carnival readings expose gaps in new historicism’s proposed systems of omnipresent power, which deny at every turn the chance for rebellion and individuality. Rather than relegating carnival to an occasional joke, quick aside, or subplot, revenge plays explore carnivalesque concerns, and revengers plot their vengeance with all the aspects of a carnival. In these plays, revengers define subjectivity in terms of the pleasure-seeking, self-serving urges of unofficial culture; negotiations for social change occur in which folk culture avoids a repressive, hierarchal order; and carnival play destabilizes courtly systems that track, classify, pigeonhole, and immobilize individuals.