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Humiliation is the abasement ofpride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of beinghumbled or reduced to lowliness orsubmission. It is an emotion felt by a person whosesocial status, either by force or willingly, has just decreased.[1] It can be brought about throughintimidation, physical or mentalmistreatment or trickery, or byembarrassment if a person is revealed to have committed a socially or legally unacceptable act. Whereas humility can be sought alone as a means to de-emphasize the ego, humiliation must involve other person(s), though not necessarily directly or willingly.
Humiliation is currently an active research topic, and is now seen as an important – and complex – core dynamic in humanrelationships, having implications at intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional and international levels.[2][3]
A person who suffers from severe humiliation could experiencemajor depressions, suicidal states, and severeanxiety states such aspost-traumatic stress disorder. The loss of status, like losing a job or being labeled as a liar or discredited unfairly, could cause people to be unable to behave normally in their communities. Humiliated individuals could be provoked and crave revenge, and some people could feel worthless, hopeless and helpless, creating suicidal thoughts if justice is not met. It also can lead to new insights, activism and a new kinship with marginalized groups.[4]
Feelings of humiliation can produce 'humiliated fury',[5] which when turned inward can result inapathy anddepression, and when turned outward can give rise toparanoia, sadistic behavior and fantasies of revenge. Klein explains, "When it is outwardly directed, humiliated fury unfortunately creates additional victims, often including innocent bystanders. When it is inwardly directed, the resulting self-hate renders victims incapable of meeting their own needs, let alone having energy available to love and care for others.[6]
A study by researchers at theUniversity of Michigan revealed that "the same regions of the brain that become active in response to painful sensory experiences are activated during intense experiences ofsocial rejection." In other words, humiliation andloneliness are experienced as intensely as physical pain.[7]
Humiliation of one person by another (the humiliator) is often used as a way of asserting power over them, and is a common form ofoppression orabuse used in apolice, military, orprison context during legal interrogations or illegaltorture sessions. Many now-obsolete publicpunishments were deliberately designed to be humiliating, e.g.tarring and feathering lawbreakers,pillory, "mark of shame" (stigma) as a means of "making an example" of a person and presenting a deterrent to others. Some practices, such as tarring and feathering, became tools of unofficial mob justice. In folk customs such as the English skimmington rides and rough music (and their continental equivalents, such as the FrenchCharivari), dramatic public demonstrations of moral disapproval were enacted to humiliatetransgressors and drive them out of the community.[8]
Some U.S. states have experimented with humiliating orshaming lawbreakers by publishing their names and indicating their offense (e.g., with soliciting prostitutes or drinking and driving). In 2010, there was public outcry about reports showing police inDongguan andGuangdong in China leading a parade of arrested prostitutes for the purpose of humiliating them. The nationalMinistry of Public Security reprimanded the local police and affirmed that such punishments are not allowed.[9]
Donald Klein described humiliation as "a powerful factor in human affairs that has, for a variety of reasons, been overlooked by students of individual and collective behavior. It is a pervasive and all too destructive influence in the behavior of individuals, groups, organizations, and nations."[6]
Though it is a subjective emotion, humiliation has a universal aspect which applies to all human beings: "it is the feeling of being put down, made to feel less than one feels oneself to be."[2]
Asociety that suffers from humiliation is an unstable one. Thecognitive dissonance between the way in which the society is perceived and the way in which it sees itself can be so great that violence can result on a massive scale against people belonging to anout group. According toJonathan Sacks, "By turning the question 'What did we do wrong?' into 'Who did this to us?', [hate against an out group] restores some measure of self-respect and provides a course of action. In psychiatry, the clinical terms for this process aresplitting andprojection; it allows people to definethemselves as victims."[10]
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