Revenge: a Modern View on a Historical Problem

Abstract

Background. The phenomenon of revenge has been widely studied in psychology since the beginning of the 20th century. Acts of revenge are considered in psychoanalysis, social, family, criminal, legal and other areas of psychology. Nowadays behaviour based on the motive of revenge is found in virtual environment. There is an ambivalent attitude towards revenge. On the one hand, a person who does not get revenge seems weak. On the other hand, seeking for revenge can be perceived as an unconstructive way of behaving. Despite the prevalence of revenge, there is no generally accepted opinion in psychological science regarding the definition of revenge. Objectives. The aim of this work is to analyze various ideas about revenge and to highlight the components of vengeful behaviour, based on which the form of reciprocal aggression can be classified as revenge. The problem of distinguishing between the concepts of “revenge”, “retribution”, “resentment” and “punishment” is considered. Results. Revenge has a significant difference from other forms of aggressive behaviour. Revenge is always a reaction to previous aggression. The motivational component includes two aspects: the desire to take revenge (revenge seeking) and the desire to maintain a comfortable level of self-esteem. Society has a dual function in relation to revenge: as an initial motive influencing the choice of response to resentment, and as a deterrent factor. The willingness to forgive is determined by moral development, a number of personal characteristics and changes in the motivational sphere. Conclusions. In psychological science, the phenomenon of revenge is subjected to a thorough theoretical analysis. Due to the fact that revenge is an intrapersonal phenomenon, the development of methodological tools, including psychodiagnostic techniques, is necessary for the development of revenge research.

Keywords

• revenge
• retribution
• revenge seeking
• ressentiment
• forgiveness