Malicious Envy Undermines Cooperation: Envy As a Mediator Under Equal and Unequal Payoffs

We examined whether malicious envy mediates the effect of game disadvantage on cooperation in a Prisoner’s Dilemma game. Participants were told that they were playing with another person and completed the game using either equal or unequal payoff matrix. Disadvantaged participants reported stronger malicious envy, which in turn reduced cooperation.