Schadenfreude: why does satisfaction appear in the face of other people’s problems?

This psychological phenomenon has been explained from various perspectives by different hypotheses.

Schadenfreude is the experience of joy caused by the misfortune of others.. It is a psychological phenomenon that is often associated with a lack of empathy and compassion, and is thus often associated with antisocial personalities. But is this phenomenon exclusive to antisocial personalities, and why does it manifest itself?

Next we will see some explanations that social psychology has offered to explain it.

Schadenfreude: satisfaction for the misfortune of others

The German term "schadenfreude" is used to refer to the feeling of satisfaction, complacency, joy or pleasure provoked by the difficulties or humiliations experienced by others. In other words, it is about gloating over the mishaps that happen to others.

Although it seems to occur only in isolated cases, schadenfreude has been described since ancient Greece in a variety of ways. has been described since Ancient Greece in different ways.. For example, the term "epicaricacia" was used to refer to the same feeling of enjoyment at the misfortune of others. In ancient Rome, "malevolence" was used to describe the same feeling.

And in the Middle Ages, Thomas Aquinas thought that schadenfreude was, along with resentment and defamation, one of the perverse emotions derived from envy.. In fact, centuries later, this would remain one of the main explanations for schadenfreude, as we will see below.

Why does it appear? Explanations from social psychology

Isn't someone else's misfortune supposed to provoke compassion? What is it that generates this feeling of exhilaration we call schadenfreude? Does it have an adaptive function? Aaron Ben Zeev, a psychologist at the University of Haifa, says that schadenfreude is mainly triggered by the following circumstances:

• If, according to our judgment, the other seems to deserve his misfortune.
• If the harm suffered by the other is relatively slight.
• If the harm has not been caused by our fault..

The above, however, does not eliminate the social expectation to feel compassion for the misfortune of others. This contradiction between the obligation to feel this emotion, but not being able to avoid feeling joy, generates an important discomfort. To reduce it, the person begins by responding morally from compassion, and subsequently justifying the unhappiness by principles of justice.

1. The individual satisfaction of justice

This phenomenon is usually explained by the hierarchies in which we relate to each other, since, according to the position we occupy, we tend to evaluate the positions of others, we tend to evaluate the positions of othersand the kind of justice they deserve.

Thus, as soon as we suspect that someone is enjoying something that he or she should not, we become envious and jealous. On the contrary, when that same person is suddenly involved in a complicated situation, the feeling we get is that of a rebalancing of power.

2. Caused by envy?

Traditionally, schadenfreude has been explained by the envy that provokes a more privileged position of others. In other words, this phenomenon would occur especially from a less privileged person to a more privileged one, when the latter has had some mishap.

What good would the misfortune of the other, who is more privileged, do for us? Beyond envy, other explanations suggest that the misfortune of the more privileged other gives back an ephemeral image of a balance of power tilted in our favor. a balance of power tilted in our favor.

The vulnerability of the other, whom we recognize with difficulty as vulnerable precisely because of his privileged position, would give us back an image of power over ourselves. It is a reversal of status that gives us recognition on principles of justice.

Aaron Ben Zeev himself explains schadenfreude as an emotional phenomenon which, as such, is activated when we perceive significant changes in our personal situation. Such changes will be positive or negative depending on whether they disrupt or improve the situation in accordance with our interests..

In this sense, schadenfreude would have an adaptive character, since it provokes a significant positive change (it allows us to momentarily reduce our own vulnerability), which in turn helps us to adapt to a constantly changing environment.

3. Superiority theory and intergroup relations

Another explanation of schadenfreude is based on the superiority theory, which has also been used to explain some of the functions of humor.

Studies based on this explanation have related schadenfreude to a tendency to conformism (specifically in the change of opinions towards the tendency of the majority). It has also been associated with low self-esteem. has been associated with low self-esteemPeople with scores revealing low self-esteem are more inclined to experience schadenfreude, probably as a means of reaffirming a position of power that they see as constantly at risk.

In other words, the latter is explained by the phenomenon of self-perceived threat, which is related to perceptions of the power position of others. perceptions of the power position of others compared to our own.compared to our own. Thus, if circumstances reduce self-perceived threat, schadenfreude also tends to decrease.

This has also led to a link between this psychological phenomenon and depression. According to studies on schadenfreude, it occurs frequently in cases of moderate depression, probably because self-esteem is devalued.

Thus, beyond being a purely psychological phenomenon, schadenfreude has also been explained as an effect of depression. has also been explained as an effect of the threat of inferiority, mediated in turn by hierarchical dimensions present in particular intergroup relations.

Bibliographical references:

• Degen, F. (2014). The joy in other's misfortune. Retrieved October 12, 2018. Disponible en https://plus.google.com/101046916407340625977/posts/YRVfS8runXR
• Feather, N.L. y Sherman, R. (2002). Envy, Resentment, Schadenfreude and Sympathy: Reactions to Deserved and Undeserved Achievement and Subsequent Failure. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28(7): 953-961.
• Leach, C.W., Spears, R., Branscombe, NR. y Doosje, B. (2003). Malicious pleasure: schadenfreude at the suffering of another group. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
• Michalik-Jezowska, M. (2016). About the benefits of pleasure-in-other’s-misfortune. Aaron Ben-Ze’ev’s depiction of emotions as adaptive mechanisms. Studia Humana, 5(3): 53-69.