Displaced revenge: Can revenge taste “sweet” if it aims at a different target?

•Displaced revenge is targeted at a different person than the original transgressor.•We examine conditions under which displaced revenge can be satisfying.•Displaced revenge is satisfying when the transgressor group is highly entitative.•Interconnectedness and similarity between transgressor and target are both important.•Displaced revenge is goal-directed and can achieve a sense of justice.

This article investigates whether acts of displaced revenge, that is, revenge targeted at a different person than the original transgressor, can be satisfying for the avenger. We assume that displaced revenge can lead to justice-related satisfaction when the group to which the original transgressor and the displaced target belong is highly entitative. Two experimental online studies show that displaced revenge leads to less regret (Study 1; N = 169) or more satisfaction (Study 2; N = 89) when the transgressor and the displaced target belong to a group that is perceived as highly entitative. Study 3 (N = 72) shows that avengers experience more satisfaction when members of the transgressor group were manipulated to be both strongly interconnected and similar in their appearance. Results of an internal meta-analysis furthermore corroborate the notion that displaced revenge leads to more satisfaction when the transgressor group is highly entitative. Taken together, our findings suggest that even displaced revenge can achieve a sense of justice in the eyes of avengers.