Contempt: what it is, examples, how it manifests itself, reasons

Contempt is a feeling of dislike and superiority (usually moral) towards another person, group of people and/or their actions. This is the least studied emotion, and therefore some experts suggest not classifying it as a basic emotion and do not even identify contempt as a separate feeling. Which is not surprising: Dr. Paul Ekman's original list of universal emotions, compiled during his pioneering research in New Guinea in the 1960s, did exclude contempt. And yet, later, after extensive cross-cultural research, Ekman added it to the list. As part of a series of materials about basic emotions, we understand feelings - and end with the seventh, last and most status emotion.

In words, contempt can be expressed approximately as follows: “I am better than you, and you are in certain aspects (or completely) worse than me
. The most common trigger for this emotion is the immoral action of a person or group of people over whom you feel superior. Although contempt is still a distinct emotion, it is often accompanied by anger, usually in a mild form such as irritation. Often, contempt is associated with certain stereotypes or prejudices: for example, people may feel contempt for politicians (for hypocrisy), the unemployed (for laziness), criminals (for being ruthless), or uneducated people (for ignorance).

The function of contempt is to assert power and status, and to signal superiority and the lack of need to agree or fight.

Consequently, those who are insecure about their status are more likely to show contempt as a way of asserting their superiority. That is, sometimes people in “subordinate” positions and roles may feel contempt for those who have a higher social, political or legal status. Here are just a few examples: teenagers may feel contempt for adults, workers for their bosses, prisoners for their guards. While "bottom-up contempt" is common, the reverse of course also occurs - where someone with a higher life "rating" may feel contempt for those with a lower one. This feeling of power and superiority is called “downward contempt” and can be both pleasant and cause embarrassment and/or shame.

As with all emotions, the degree of contempt varies. Because contempt is inherently associated with a socially constructed ladder in which some people are higher and others lower, the degree to which people experience contempt depends on how strongly they believe in this classification. People who truly believe that everyone is equal are less likely to feel contempt for others. However, most social structures have some sort of hierarchical classification because it helps to reward people who exhibit praiseworthy behavior and to punish those who behave badly or inappropriately.

What is contempt?

Contempt is a negative attitude towards a person or social group based on neglect, disrespect and a sense of superiority. This word can denote both an internal feeling and undisguised arrogant behavior with demonstrative disrespect.
Describing various aspects of a contemptuous attitude, we will use such concepts as subject and object of contempt. The subject is the individual showing contempt, and the object is the one towards whom it is directed.

As a rule, there is some justification for a contemptuous attitude. Usually a person is criticized for some character traits, unsuccessful actions, statements and other mistakes made in the past. But sometimes factors such as social status, health or appearance, origin, level of income, etc. become the reason.

Word combinations

What kind of contempt and contempt can there be?

Contempt happens:

• extreme;
• highest;
• deep;
• icy;
• cold;
• burning;
• sizzling;
• vile;
• fair;
• deserved;
• unfair;
• cruel;
• desperate;
• crazy;
• impudent;
• crazy.

Charity happens:

• warm;
• good;
• sacrificial;
• selfless;
• unconscious.

What verbs do these nouns combine with?

Contempt humiliates, insults, offends, torments, suppresses, upsets, saddens, jars, kills, tramples.

Charity warms, confuses, pleases, consoles, enlivens.

Examples of contempt

Outwardly, contempt usually manifests itself in such aspects of behavior as:

• demonstrative disdain;
• ignoring (for example, when approaching a group of acquaintances, the subject may say hello to everyone, but pointedly not extend a hand to the object of his contempt);
• refusal of discussions and disputes (at the same time the subject emphasizes that the opinion of the object of his contempt cannot be objective);
• vile and base actions, justified by the fact that the despised person simply does not deserve normal treatment;
• demonstrative disgust, refusal to participate in joint events (“If you call him, I won’t come”).

Often, contempt is an attempt to demonstrate moral, intellectual or other superiority in a situation where the subject is not confident in himself and needs self-affirmation. It is often directed at those higher up in the hierarchy (this is called “bottom-up contempt”). Here are some examples of this attitude:

• subordinates often demonstrate a contemptuous attitude towards their superiors, thus taking out their resentment for insufficiently good working conditions;
• not particularly successful people despise anyone who has a higher social status, such as politicians and celebrities;
• teenagers often show contempt for adults, criticizing them for being conservative and hypocritical;
• prisoners despise guards.

There is also “top-down contempt” or “top-down contempt.” It lies in the fact that a successful person is contemptuous of those who are lower in the social hierarchy. From a psychological point of view, such contempt may reflect a person's dissatisfaction with his successes or his uncertainty that he deservedly received his status.

Cognates

Such lexemes have a common root, but different prefixes and suffixes. Words with various prefixes have been given above. Words of the same root also mean lexemes that have the same root and prefix, but are different parts of speech. Examples:

1. Contempt for people at a lower social level was its characteristic feature.
2. It is customary to call money a despicable metal in the general sense of this concept.
3. Disregarding weakness towards himself, he gathered his will into a fist and broke all past ties.
4. In all his movements and speeches there was servility and an unpleasant desire to please, while he spoke about himself exclusively in the third person, calling himself “the most despicable slave.”
5. He couldn't bear to admit his own contempt, even to himself.
6. And after these words his gaze became even more contemptuous.

Words with the same root often have similar meanings. For example, “contempt” differs little in meaning from the word “contempt”.

How is contempt expressed?

Above we looked at several demonstrative ways in which people express their contempt for someone if they really want to show it. If a person does not express a contemptuous attitude on purpose, it can still be noticed by non-verbal signals, such as facial expressions, gestures, speech patterns, etc.

External manifestations of contempt were described in detail by the American psychologist Paul Ekman (the prototype of Dr. Lightman in the popular TV series Lie to Me).

A characteristic feature of a facial expression demonstrating contempt is its asymmetry. One corner of the lips rises, while the other falls or remains in place - this is a combination of disgust and ridicule. In addition, the chin rises and the head tilts back slightly, causing the person to look down at the object of contempt.

A contemptuous attitude affects the manner of communication, manifesting itself in such features as:

• evil jokes based on skepticism and sarcasm;
• openly ridiculing human mistakes and shortcomings;
• criticism bordering on insults;
• ostentatious indifference, neglect;
• demonstrative gestures of disrespect.

If a person is trying to hide contempt, or at least does not seek to demonstrate it, it can be noticed by certain gestures and behavioral characteristics. In particular, the object of contempt is usually looked down upon, often crossing the arms and puffing out the chest. Any of his mistakes and even ordinary actions can make a despising person laugh.

Recommendations

1. TenHouten, W. D. (2007). A general theory of emotions and social life
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2. "Contempt. (But.)". Internet dictionary of etymology. Retrieved April 20, 2008.
3. Solomon, R. (1993). Passions: Emotions and the Meaning of Life
   . Hackett Publishing.
4. Ekman, P; Hyder, K. (1988). "The universality of expressions of contempt: a replication." Motivation and emotions
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   (3): 303–308. Doi:10.1007/bf00993116.
5. Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. W. (1969). The repertoire of nonverbal behavior: Categories, origins, use, and encoding. Semiotics, 1, 49–98.
6. Ekman; Haider (1988). "The Universality of Expressing Contempt: A Replication" (PDF). Motivation and emotions
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7. ^ a b
   Bell, M. (2005).
   "Female Contempt: Toward a Feminist Defense of Contempt as a Moral Emotion." Hypatia
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   (4): 80–93. Doi:10.1111/j.1527-2001.2005.tb00537.x.
8. Bell, M. (2013). Hard feelings: The moral psychology of contempt.
   Oxford University Press. ISBN 0199794146
9. Miller, K. H. (2035). How dare you! A measure of outrage. Manuscript in preparation, University of Oklahoma.
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    (2004). "III. Glares of contempt, rolling eyes of disgust, and refusal to be excluded: Nonverbal forms of social aggression among girls.” Feminism and Psychology
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11. "City Council Lets Frown," Daily Southtown
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Reasons for showing contempt

From a logical point of view, contempt is a meaningless emotion. There are people in this world who are important to us - we value and respect them. And there are those who do not play a big role in our lives - we should be indifferent to them. Then where does contempt come from? And why do people tend to feel this way towards those who have not done them any harm? Psychologists name the following reasons:

• Fear of becoming the same. For example, people who quit drinking or smoking tend to have a contemptuous attitude towards those who could not cope with this habit. The reason is that deep down they understand perfectly well that they themselves can “break down”.
• Internal prohibitions. Due to our upbringing or life experience, we prohibit ourselves from certain things. This point partially overlaps with the previous one. For example, a person who quit smoking knows that cigarettes are taboo for him. And so as not to inadvertently take an example from the smoker, he despises him for this weakness.
• Self-resentment. Weaknesses, addictive behavior, stupid actions often lead people to serious losses, for which they remain angry with themselves for a long time. Therefore, they suppress these weaknesses in themselves in every possible way, while they despise others for them.
• Arrogance. Some successful people despise those who are not as successful as them. The reason for their contempt is narcissism, egocentrism and a sense of superiority. As a rule, this is due to the fact that success came too easily to them.
• Sociopathy. Almost every sociopath treats others with contempt. It is simply not in his nature to sympathize with other people, and he perceives them as competitors and potential enemies.

The cause of contempt is always the one who despises. At best, he is simply a naive person with a lack of life experience and an excess of emotional distress. At worst, he is a sociopath who despises everyone around him, living by the principle “Man is a wolf to man.” In any case, contempt is a very primitive reaction to other people’s shortcomings, characteristic of immature individuals and almost never found in people with a high level of intellectual development.

Virtues

Contempt can serve a useful purpose in a moral community. The ethics of disrespect provides a much greater range of responses than other competing systems of ethics, whether they are based on an ethics of action (judging actions by their rightness or wrongness) or an ethics of feeling (such as an ethics of indignation). Disdaining those things that are considered unethical, immoral, or morally questionable can both show that they are bad and remove them from the moral community.[8][ page needed

]

The Negative Impact of Contempt

Contempt harms, first of all, the one who despises. For him, it becomes a source of negative emotions that poison his life. A contemptuous attitude easily turns into anger or hatred, sometimes even provoking violence . If a person allows himself to despise others, calmly accepting this feeling, then over time it will inevitably intensify, harming his own mental health.

In addition, displays of contempt affect relationships with other people. After all, many of those who listen to contemptuous ridicule of mutual acquaintances wonder if their friend is speaking about them in the same way behind their backs. Thus, contempt is a highly undesirable emotion that any sane person should get rid of.

Why does the face look bitchy?

Neuroscientists conducted the experiment Throwing Shade: The Science of Resting Bitch Face, during which they scanned more than 10 thousand pictures of human faces using a special program. And we came to the conclusion that a face is never 100% neutral. The normal rate is 97% neutral and 3% other emotions. However, “bitchy” people have a lower level of neutrality: it is only 94%. And the percentage of emotions is correspondingly higher - as much as 6%. Moreover, the predominant one among them is contempt.

The expression of negative emotions in a calm state is a consequence of the characteristics of the facial muscles. Here are the main ones:

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Most often, spasmed facial muscles and slow blood circulation and lymph flow are to blame. Another reason is poor posture, in which the entire muscle layer of the face shifts. The clarity of the oval is lost, ptosis and swelling appear, the corners of the lips creep down, and the nasolabial folds become deeper.

In addition, the external signs of angry face syndrome can also be a consequence of poor vision: a person squints all the time, straining his facial muscles, and over time this becomes a habit.

How to get rid of contempt

If you feel that you are prone to contempt and want to get rid of this tendency, then the first step is to understand the reason. This will allow you to choose the optimal strategy for solving the problem.

Think about whether you are afraid of being in the place of a despised person. Perhaps you are simply aware that there is such a risk, and contempt serves as a way to “pull” yourself, to remind yourself that this is absolutely unacceptable. If the cause is truly fear, then you need to get rid of fear first.

Someone sees shortcomings in the despised person, which they diligently suppress (and not always successfully) in themselves. In this case, you can try to replace contempt with understanding. Remember how difficult it can be to resist this shortcoming. It’s likely that other people are having a hard time too, which means they can be understood.

A general strategy for getting rid of contempt includes the following steps:

• Determine which traits cause contempt. Understand your own attitude towards these traits (fear of becoming the same, self-resentment, shame for the past, etc.).
• Understand whether this has to do with you or with someone close to whom you harbor a grudge (for example, a father who drank, or a mother who used too harsh parenting methods). Forgive yourself and loved ones, get rid of old grievances.
• Get rid of arrogance. Remember that truly smart and talented people, well-developed morally, do not have narcissism, pride, selfishness, self-centeredness, arrogance and other similar traits.
• Learn to see the good in everyone. A person who strives to become a better person must stop focusing on the negative.
• Allow people to be imperfect. All people make mistakes, and no one can be blamed for that. And if someone is important to you, accept their imperfections and appreciate them for who they are.

It is very important to deal with old grievances, internal conflicts, complexes and other experiences. It’s not always possible to do this on your own, so don’t be shy about contacting a psychologist. Getting rid of old psychological traumas and other mental “baggage” will significantly improve the quality of life.

Charity

“Contempt” is often confused with this concept. The meaning of the word “charity,” as well as its spelling, is different. In contrast to the structural unit of language, the meaning and composition of which are discussed in this article, this concept has a positive connotation. Charity is care, guardianship. This noun, as well as other parts of speech derived from it, is found mainly in classical literature.

It is worth giving a few examples. The sentences also contain words with the same root. Examples:

1. The wounded soldiers were left without water, food, or care.
2. “Take care of the orphan,” read the inscription at the entrance to the missionaries’ home.
3. The old woman had no choice but to collect her meager belongings and go to the “House of Charity.”

Phraseologism

What other examples can you give with the word “contempt”? A phrase whose meaning is not determined by the meaning of each of its components is called a phraseological unit in linguistics. In colloquial speech, the word “contempt” is associated with the expression “zero attention and a pound of contempt.”

This phraseological unit means the complete absence of any manifestations of attention, absolute indifference to the situation, which, it would seem, should evoke emotions and emotional excitement. For example: “She is told that if she does not pass the Latin exam, she will be expelled, and she receives zero attention and a pound of contempt.”

Examples

“Contempt” is a word that appears primarily in fiction. It is rarely used in colloquial speech. What definition did the classics give to this word?

Hugo called contempt a slap in the face from a distance. The writer Anne-Sophie Brasme said in one of her books that the only thing worse than him is indifference. The modern author Begbeder believes that contempt for a once close person insults the one who experiences this feeling. But it was not only the French who spoke of contempt. A.S. Pushkin, explaining Onegin’s pathological indifference, said that contempt is characteristic of every thinking person.

Morphological characteristics

Both “contempt” and the word “contempt” are common nouns, inanimate nouns of the second declension.

Antonyms

What feelings are the opposite of contempt? Respect, veneration, favor. The following examples contain antonyms for the word “contempt”. It is better to supplement the sentence with this word with a lexical unit of opposite meaning for better understanding. Examples:

1. He felt towards her a feeling close to benevolence, but she towards him - offensive contempt.
2. The culture of this savage people was characterized by the worship of various deities, which caused contempt among the conquistadors.
3. She treated her husband's parents, as expected, with respect, but for five years of living in this house she earned only silent contempt.