Thomas Browne wrote, "Let age, not envy draw wrinkles on thy cheeks".
Though many people perceive that both age and envy cause old women to have wrinkles, a new study showed that younger people, particularly under the age of thirty, are more jealous of their colleagues than those of older generation.
Basic and Applied Social Psychology journal released a study led by Christine Harris, phycology professor and former student Nicole Henniger of the University of California, San Diego which aims to understand more one of human's trait-envy.
Two studies were conducted, one with more than 900 participants, which age vary from 18 to 80 years and the second one which surveyed 800 people (from 18 to 80 years) which focused on their experiences on being envied by others.
The study found that envy is a normal emotion, common to everyone. More than three fourths of the participants noted feeling envious in the last year, 79. 4 percent women and 74.1 percent men.
Almost 80 percent teens and adults younger than 30 revealed feeling jealous more than older participants. Only 69 percent of those at age 50 and older noted the same feeling. The researchers concluded that as a person grows older, it's feeling of envy or jealousy diminishes. The age also differentiates what people feel envy about.
40 percent of younger participants tend to feel envy toward success in romance of others. Their looks, achievement in schools and social success also often prompt their jealous nature. However, only 15 percent or less of older generation felt envious about prosperity in romantic relationship.
Harris stated, ""Envy of monetary success and occupational success was common across all age groups."
The research also found that most of the participants envy those of their same gender. Professor Harris added, "It surprised us how consistently men envied other men and women, women. Even in domains like financial and occupational success, where you can imagine that a woman might envy a man his better pay or status, that wasn't usually the case."
Whether changes over the lifespan or differences among generations cause younger people to feel more jealous than older people is yet unclear. "Either finding is interesting but only future longitudinal research can distinguish between these two options," Harris said.
