The present study
groupOur, decrease schadenfreude feelings
Consequently, the purpose of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) study was to test the efficacy of a compassion training (intending to cultivate benevolent wishes toward a benefactor, oneself, and all living beings) in a difficult interpersonal context such as the relationship with a disliked person. To improve the ecological validity of our research, participants were instructed to select a person they disliked, i.e., a person with whom they had personally interacted and with whom they may have had a conflict (as opposed to selecting an imagined or unknown disliked person). We aimed to determine whether compassion training changed schadenfreude and feelings of closeness toward this disliked person even if the disliked person was not targeted during the training (transfer effect). Schadenfreude feelings were measured using misfortune scenarios involving the disliked person, a typical paradigm in schadenfreude research. Closeness feelings were assessed with the Inclusion of the Other in the Self ScaleThe current study tested the efficacy of compassion training against a reappraisal training and a neutral active control group (i.e., learning Italian) to overcome one of the main limitations in meditation research, which is the lack of RCT with an active control groupOur hypotheses were that both compassion training and reappraisal training compared with an active control training (i.e., learning a non-native language), would decrease schadenfreude feelings toward a disliked person. In addition, we hypothesized that both compassion and reappraisal training compared to the control condition would lead to an increase in interpersonal closeness toward the disliked person. Finally, because this is the first study of its kind to compare compassion training and reappraisal training in tense ongoing relationships, we explored the differences between the two emotion regulation interventions without a directed hypothesis.