Can envy be good for you? With Jens Lange, PhD, and Sara Protasi, PhD

September 30, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In a 2019 conference on hostile emotions, psychologist Jens Lange and philosopher Sara Protasi discovered they had both been using the same example to explain envy: each envied the other’s academic success. That moment of mutual recognition became the basis for a collaboration arguing that envy, one of the seven deadly sins, is not always destructive. Lange and Protasi join this episode of Speaking of Psychology to make the case that envy can be a useful signal—and that the real challenge is learning which kind of envy you are feeling and what to do about it.

What envy is (and is not)

Envy begins with a painful comparison. As Lange defines it, envy is “a painful feeling resulting from an unflattering comparison with another person” who is superior in a domain that matters deeply to you. He would not envy Leonardo DiCaprio’s acting because he is not an actor, but he would envy Protasi’s book on envy because their professional identities overlap. This distinguishes envy from jealousy: jealousy is the fear of losing something you already have (typically a romantic partner), while envy is the pain of wanting something someone else possesses.

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What you'll learn

1 (02:38) **Defining Envy vs. Jealousy** - Jens Lange gives a concise definition of envy as a painful feeling from an unfavorable comparison, and distinguishes it from jealousy, which is the fear of losing something you already have.
2 (03:37) **Sara Protasi’s Four Types of Envy** - Protasi introduces her taxonomy of four distinct kinds of envy, using a shared professional rivalry with Lange as a running example.
3 (09:24) **Psychological Distinctions: Benign vs. Malicious Envy** - Lange explains the psychological perspective, which typically categorizes envy into two broad processes rather than four fixed types.
4 (12:44) **Do People Admit to Feeling Envy?** - Both guests discuss the stigma surrounding envy and how people often deny it, but they agree that virtually everyone experiences it.
5 (14:27) **Can You Envy a Thing?** - The guests clarify that envy is always directed at a person, not an object, even if the object is the focus.
6 (15:22) **An Interdisciplinary Perspective on Envy** - Lange and Protasi discuss their collaboration and the value of combining psychological and philosophical approaches to study envy.
7 (19:45) **Why We Envy People We’re Close To** - Protasi explains the paradox of envying friends, siblings, and romantic partners, arguing it is a normal, though painful, part of close relationships.

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Show Notes

We've all felt a pang of envy watching a friend's success or a colleague's promotion. But does this much-maligned emotion deserve its negative reputation? Psychologist Jens Lange, PhD, and philosopher Sara Protasi, PhD, discuss the difference between envy and jealousy; why we're often most envious of the people closest to us; and how envy may, in the right circumstances, motivate us to grow.

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