Envy is a negative and self-conscious emotion that emerges from social comparison. Children compare their possessions and skills with others to construct the Self. The aim of this study is to explore what type of objects — tangible and intangible — are more salient in invidious comparison in order to evaluate the intensity of envy and differences found according to age. Participants included children between the ages of three and nine years (N = 236), who were asked to score how an envious character in a story felt upon witnessing the misfortune of the envied person. In one case, the envied object was tangible (i.e., a scooter), in the other, it was intangible (i.e., being chosen due to possessing greater skill). The results indicated that envy is more intense for all of the age groups in the situations related to possessing greater skill rather than those related to possessing material objects. The younger children (3–6 years) showed more intense malicious envy than the older children. We then discuss the results regarding the role of intangible and tangible possessions in invidious comparison during childhood development.
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