The Psychology of Revenge: Exploring Human Behavior and Motivation

This essay delves into the multifaceted nature of revenge as a human behavior, exploring its psychological underpinnings and societal implications. The author examines the definition of revenge, differentiating it from other actions, and references McCullough's work on forgiveness to highlight the complexities surrounding the act. The essay then analyzes the relationship between low self-esteem and externalizing problems like aggression, antisocial behavior, and delinquency, drawing on the research of Donnellan et al. (2005). The study's findings across three studies are discussed, emphasizing the adverse consequences of low self-esteem, which may induce acts of vengeance. The essay underscores that revenge is a self-destructive activity with detrimental impacts on both individuals and society.

Running head: REVENGE AS A HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Revenge as a human behavior
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1REVENGE AS A HUMAN BEHAVIOR
A. Human beings are concerned with living their life in a peaceful and harmonious manner.
Every individual wants to achieve his or her targets in life without having to run in to certain
barriers (Kivivuori, Savolainen & Aaltonen, 2016). Obstacles and barriers are a part and parcel
of one’s life but they should be in such nature that they can be overcome in an effective manner.
Often times it is observed that these obstacles arise as a result of some human activity. As a
result of such activity which prevents the growth of an individual, the concerned person then
feels the need for revenge. Revenge is defined to be that activity which seeks to find relief from a
wrongful action by the way of causing intentional harm to the other person for whom the
concerned individual had to face a problem (Sohal, Boon & Paulin, 2018). This act of revenge is
not meant to prevent the occurrence of any activity or to change the wrongdoing, but rather to
find relief in the idea that the other person has been harmed to a similar degree or to a greater
degree. As a consequence, it can be noticed that acts of vengeance are intentional in nature,
seeking to cause more trouble (Pina, Holland & James, 2017).
In the book written by McCullough (2008), titled “Beyond revenge: The evolution of the
forgiveness instinct” it has been found out in a survey that people prefer the aspect of forgiveness
to be one of the qualifying factor for a decent and desirable human being. The author is of the
idea that people may often feel the need for revenge but when the time comes for them to act on
the feeling, it is found out that many people choose not to do so. This is mainly because of the
fact that people are afraid of the idea of seeking vengeance, lest they end up causing more
damage. For instance, at times revenge can also lead to the killing of another human being which
is highly immoral and illegal in nature and can have serious repercussions. The author has also
opined that it is this aspect of revenge which has led to the generation if terrorism and hatred in
the world. Often times, the people believe that revenge can provide a solution to their problems.

2REVENGE AS A HUMAN BEHAVIOR
In this aspect, the author has defined three different evolutionary hypotheses which looks in to
the factor of revenge and pain.
B. In article titled “Low self-esteem is related to aggression, antisocial behavior, and
delinquency”, the authors Donnellan et al. (2005), tried to analyze the aspect of low self-esteem
as observed in individual and how they try to deal with this problem through aggression,
delinquency and anti-social behavior. In the research study conducted, the author made three
studies. In the first study, the author took a sample belonging to the student population aged
eleven years to fourteen years who were delinquent in nature according to the reports of the
teachers. In this study, it was found out that the relation between self-esteem and delinquency is
negative in nature. In the second study, the views of the parents with regard to the anti-social
behavior of their children were taken to be the qualifying factor for choosing the target
population. The target population were students of ages eleven to thirteen. In the findings, it was
noted that people with low self-esteem often suffered from the problem of behaving in an anti-
social manner. In the third study, the author tried to analyze the existing relation between
unrealistically high self-esteem and acts of aggression. It was found out that narcissism and self-
esteem is somewhat moderately related but low self-esteem leads to high acts of physical
violence.
The findings of the study can be assumed to be true as the author had made the use of a
variety of different aspects of human behaviors while measuring them across many scales. With
regard to its application in the society in general, the study is important because it tells the
readers about the adverse consequences of low self-esteem. Due to low self-esteem, people often
suffer from bouts of violent behavior in an attempt to garner the attention of people. This further
leads to undesirable social activity which might induce acts of vengeance among the people who

3REVENGE AS A HUMAN BEHAVIOR
have been affected as a result of those suffering from anti-social problems (Bothamley & Tully,
2018). Revenge is a self-destroying activity which not only impacts the individuals but also
adversely impacts the society.

4REVENGE AS A HUMAN BEHAVIOR
References:
Kivivuori, J., Savolainen, J., & Aaltonen, M. (2016). The revenge motive in delinquency:
Prevalence and predictors. Acta Sociologica, 59(1), 69-84.
Pina, A., Holland, J., & James, M. (2017). The malevolent side of revenge porn proclivity: dark
personality traits and sexist ideology. International Journal of Technoethics (IJT), 8(1),
30-43.
Bothamley, S., & Tully, R. J. (2018). Understanding revenge pornography: public perceptions of
revenge pornography and victim blaming. Journal of aggression, conflict and peace
research, 10(1), 1-10.
Donnellan, M. B., Trzesniewski, K. H., Robins, R. W., Moffitt, T. E., & Caspi, A. (2005). Low
self-esteem is related to aggression, antisocial behavior, and delinquency. Psychological
science, 16(4), 328-335.
McCullough, M. (2008). Beyond revenge: The evolution of the forgiveness instinct. John Wiley
& Sons.
Sohal, P., Boon, S., & Paulin, M. (2018, November). Revenge Tendencies and Procedural Justice
Outcomes of Sexual Rejection. Arts.