Editing Revenge (section)

==Social psychology==
{{for-text|broader coverage of this topic in [[Organizational psychology]]|[[Workplace revenge]]}}
Philosophers tend to believe that to punish and to take revenge are vastly different activities:<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Flew |first1=Antony |title=The Justification of Punishment |journal=Philosophy |date=1954 |volume=29 |issue=111 |pages=291–307 |jstor=3748210 |doi=10.1017/S0031819100067152 |s2cid=144047901 }}</ref> "One who undertakes to punish rationally does not do so for the sake of the wrongdoing, which is now in the past - but for the sake of the future, that the wrongdoing shall not be repeated, either by him, or by others who see him, or by others who see him punished".<ref>{{cite book |author=Plato |title=Protagoras |page=324 |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1591 |access-date=2019-12-17 |archive-date=2019-12-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217095858/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1591 |url-status=live }}</ref> In contrast, seeking revenge is motivated by a yearning to see a transgressor suffer; revenge is necessarily preceded by anger, whereas punishment does not have to be.<ref name="Kaiser">{{cite journal |last1=Schumann |first1=Karina |title=The Benefits, Costs, and Paradox of Revenge |journal=Social and Personality Psychology Compass |date=2010 |volume=4 |issue=12 |page=1193 |doi=10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00322.x }}</ref>

Indeed, Kaiser, Vick, and Major point out the following: "An important psychological implication of the various efforts to define revenge is that
there is no objective standard for declaring an act to be motivated by revenge or not.
Revenge is a label that is ascribed based on perceivers’ attributions for the act. Revenge
is an inference, regardless of whether the individuals making the inference are the harmdoers themselves, the injured parties, or outsiders. Because revenge is an inference, various individuals can disagree on whether the same action is revenge or not."<ref name="Kaiser" />

Belief in the [[just-world fallacy]] is also associated with revenge: in particular, having strong experiences or challenges against, can increase distress and motivate individuals to seek revenge, as a means of justice restoration.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kaiser|first1=Cheryl|title=A Prospective Investigation of the Relationship Between Just-World Beliefs and the Desire for Revenge After September 11, 2001|journal=Psychological Science|date=2004|volume=15|issue=7|pages=503–506|doi=10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00709.x|pmid=15200637|s2cid=34309813|url=https://depts.washington.edu/silab/Documents/Kaiser,%20Vick,%20&%20Major%20(2004).pdf |access-date=20 December 2019}}</ref>

A growing body of research reveals that a vengeful ''disposition'' is correlated to adverse health outcomes: strong desires for revenge and greater willingness to act on these desires have been correlated with [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] symptoms and psychiatric morbidity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cardozo |first1=Barbara |title=Mental health, social functioning, and attitudes of Kosovar ns following the war in Kosovo |journal=JAMA |date=2000 |volume=16 |issue=5 |pages=569–77 |doi=10.1001/jama.284.5.569 |pmid=10918702 |url=https://web.stanford.edu/~omidf/KarinaSchumann/KarinaSchumann_Home/Publications_files/Schumann.SPPC.2010.pdf |access-date=17 December 2019 |doi-access=free |archive-date=30 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930171639/https://web.stanford.edu/~omidf/KarinaSchumann/KarinaSchumann_Home/Publications_files/Schumann.SPPC.2010.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>