Study reveals people physically take pleasure in others pain

[IDemo]

Well, this would explain a lot..

Scientific evidence shows that people take pleasure in others pain, a study claims.

A collection of four experiments showed biological and self-reported evidence that people experienced happiness when someone they were jealous of or despised had something negative happen to them.

The phenomenon is known as "Schadenfreude."

The first experiment measured subjects' physical responses to various people and situations. The participants had their cheek movements monitored with an electromyogram (EMG), which measures the electrical activity of facial movements when a person smiles.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57609806/study-reveals-people-physically-take-pleasure-in-others-pain/

[jon10]

1. is there any 10 year old kid who couldnt have told you that, for free?

you really need a meter to tell if somone is smiling when they're being mean?

[el_bryanto]

2. That tile is a bit misleading

They take pleasure in people they perceive as their enemies pain - not just random people.

Bryant

[IDemo]

5. I'd probably expand it in many cases, though

Why do many folks seem to find pleasure in videos of others who presumably aren't their enemies getting seriously whacked in one way or another?

[el_bryanto]

9. It depends on how it is presented

Show videos of say people getting smacked or shot - without any context - how would people respond to that?

On the other hand if you are talking about say Television or even the News, well they give you a context. The context might be misleading - but it's enough that some can say "Well that guy had it coming"

Bryant

[Eleanors38]

3. Why, I've never seen that on DU. Never.

[kydo]

6. I guess your mom is rich and your enemy but that might be

also considered attempted murder not Schadenfreude, so it might not be a good way to cure your lust. Just saying ...

[Orrex]

8. Attempted murder? He'd probably get off.

[Orrex]

10. Doh!

My super-funny joke is less funny now that the troll's been removed.

[Chan790]

7. This required a series of experiments?!

Anybody who has ever read Justine or The Misfortunes of Virtue by the Marquis Donatien Alphonse François de Sade or practices BDSM or is a sexual or non-sexual sadist could have told them that.

There are stories of Torquemada being consumed in fits of orgasmic glee as he listened to the screams and wailing of the condemned, stories of SS officers masturbating to the sight of the execution of Jews in concentration camps, more than half of serial killers report in post-conviction psychiatric interviewing that pleasure and enjoyment were a large part of why they kill and/or posed a substantial role in their rituals.

[zazen]

11. here's abstract: the CBS title is misleading and unprofessional

And the study interpretation overbroad.

Here's the abstract from the original study: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.12179/abstract

I am severely distressed in the presence of human and animal suffering . . I mean, to the point of not being able to be exposed to it without intrusive thoughts, nightmares, hyperventilating, wanting to bang my head against the wall to make it stop, etc. I don't think I'm alone in this. The human would have to seem really, really deserving IMO for me to enjoy comeuppance, and it wouldn't be of the enjoying slow torture variety. Animals never deserve it.

Do I wish for some sense of justice or redress in a world where it seems others get away with really bad behavior? Yes. That's what this was measuring. The fourth experiment was the only one that delved into in-group rationales for pleasure in others' suffering apart from recognizable violations.

So really, it could be that this study reinforces that people _do_ empathize with others--the ones we think are hurt by the targets in question--which is why we enjoy the targets' "payback" more.




"People often fail to empathize with others, and sometimes even experience schadenfreude—pleasure at others’ misfortunes. One potent predictor of schadenfreude is envy, which, according to the stereotype content model, is elicited by high-status, competitive targets. Here we review our recent research program investigating the relationships among stereotypes, envy, schadenfreude, and harm. Experiment 1 demonstrates that stereotypes are sufficient to influence affective responses to targets’ misfortunes; participants not only report feeling less negative when misfortunes befall high-status, competitive targets as compared to other targets, they also smile more (assessed with facial EMG). Experiment 2 replicates the self-report findings from Experiment 1 and assesses behavioral tendencies toward envied targets; participants are more willing to endorse harming high-status, competitive targets as compared to other targets. Experiment 3 turns off the schadenfreude response by manipulating status and competition-relevant information regarding envied targets. Finally, Experiment 4 investigates affective and neural markers of intergroup envy and schadenfreude in the context of a long-standing sports rivalry and the extent to which neurophysiological correlates of schadenfreude are related to self-reported likelihood of harming rival team fans. We conclude with implications and future directions.

[doc03]

12. Why do people slow down to see a car wreck or watch Nascar n/t

[Rex]

13. Marquis De Sade would agree.

nt.