Previous studies suggested that people feel better after revenge taking, while other studies showed that they feel worse. The interpretation of this research is however ambiguous due to its extensive reliance on self-report measures. The present research examined spontaneous affective responses after retaliatory punishments in a laboratory task using an indirect measure of affect (affect misattribution procedure). Experiment 1 showed positive reactions after noise punishments of a provocateur compared to a control person, but only in revenge-seeking participants. Experiment 2 replicated this finding and revealed that punishing either individual led to less positive responses than not punishing anyone. It is suggested that revenge taking is associated with brief pleasurable responses that can ameliorate negative affective consequences of retaliatory action. Revenge is sweet because it makes one feel better about one’s punitive action.

先前的研究表明，人们在报复后感觉更好，而其他研究表明他们感觉更糟。然而，由于其广泛依赖于自我报告措施，对这项研究的解释是模棱两可的。本研究使用间接影响测量（影响错误归因程序）检查实验室任务中报复性惩罚后的自发情感反应。与对照组相比，实验 1 在对挑衅者进行噪音惩罚后表现出积极的反应，但仅限于寻求报复的参与者。实验 2 重复了这一发现，并表明惩罚任何一个人比不惩罚任何人导致的积极反应都更少。有人认为，报复行为与短暂的愉快反应有关，可以改善报复行为的负面情感后果。报复是甜蜜的，因为它让人们对自己的惩罚行为感觉更好。