Wagyu is considered by many to be the best beef in the world. So when foodie and Reddit user Southern-Nectarine81 ordered some to be delivered to his doorstep, he was ecstatic — the man hadn’t tasted it before.
However, after coming back home from work, he found that his girlfriend “surprised” him by cooking them to a crisp. The woman insisted that she didn’t know any better, but her partner suspected it was an attempt to get back at him after their previous argument.
Image credits: SteakEat (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Prostock-studio (not the actual photo
Image source: Southern-Nectarine81
Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
Of course, we are going on very limited information, but if we assume that the woman knew what she was doing, her actions sound to be fueled by spite.
According to research, people high in neuroticism are likely to seek revenge. At first, that seems counterintuitive because revenge is an aggressive act and these folks worry and ruminate much of the time, are prone to self-criticism, and have trouble setting goals and achieving them. However, their vengefulness is a product of their inability to manage negative emotions, particularly anger.
For example, one longitudinal study showed that individuals high in neuroticism and who experienced continued anger and hostility were still inclined to seek revenge two-and-a-half years after the original transgression. So, if the woman from the story has trouble managing anger, the guy shuold watch out.
Another paper suggests that revenge and aggression are prompted by the need to self-regulate after social rejection. Its authors measured aggression by having participants stab a voodoo doll after simulated rejection scenarios. They discovered that social rejection did significantly increase aggression, reflecting on the strength of the human need to belong and that exclusion can “elicit powerful and sometimes maladaptive responses.”
If the post is enough to think that the woman felt rejected by having her ideas about the garage renovation dismissed, then maybe she did have malicious intentions when putting the steaks in the pan.