Editing Humiliation

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Short description|Abasement of pride}}

{{technical|date=August 2022}}

[[File:William Pyne- The Costume of Great Britain (1805) - The Pillory.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|The Pillory, from ''The Costume of Great Britain'' (1805)]]
{{Emotion}}
'''Humiliation''' is the abasement of [[pride]], which creates mortification or leads to a state of being [[Humility|humbled]] or reduced to lowliness or [[submission]]. It is an emotion felt by a person whose [[social status]], either by force or willingly, has just decreased.<ref>Burton, Neel.  [https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hide-and-seek/201408/the-psychology-humiliation "The Psychology of Humiliation"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221113745/https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/hide-and-seek/201408/the-psychology-humiliation |date=21 February 2023 }}. ''Psychology Today''. 27 August 2014. 10 October 2016.</ref> It can be brought about through [[intimidation]], physical or mental [[mistreatment]] or trickery, or by [[embarrassment]] 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 human [[Interpersonal relationship|relationships]], having implications at intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional and international levels.<ref name=Lindner>Lindner, Evelin, Making Enemies: Humiliation and International Conflict. London, England: Praeger Security International, 2006.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=General Assembly|first=Presbyterian Board of Publications, 1886|date=1886|editor-last=William Eves|editor-first=Moore|title=The Presbyterian Digest of 1886: A Compend of the Acts, and Deliverances of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America|journal=Presbyterianism|publisher=Presbyterian Board of Publications, 1886|pages=238}}</ref>

== Psychological effects ==
A person who suffers from severe humiliation could experience [[Major depressive disorder|major depressions]], suicidal states, and severe [[anxiety]] states such as [[post-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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Torres |first1=Walter J. |last2=Bergner |first2=Raymond M. |date=June 2010 |title=Humiliation: Its Nature and Consequences |url=http://www.jaapl.org/content/38/2/195.full |journal=[[Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law]] |publisher=AAPL |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=195–204 |pmid=20542938 |access-date=11 May 2016 |archive-date=2 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602194108/http://jaapl.org/content/38/2/195.full |url-status=live }}</ref>

Feelings of humiliation can produce 'humiliated fury',<ref>Lewis, Helen B. 1971, ''Shame and Grief in Neurosis.'' New York: International Universities Press.</ref> which when turned inward can result in [[apathy]] and [[Depression (mood)|depression]], and when turned outward can give rise to [[paranoia]], 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.<ref name=Klein />

A study by researchers at the [[University of Michigan]] revealed that "the same regions of the brain that become active in response to painful sensory experiences are activated during intense experiences of [[social rejection]]." In other words, humiliation and [[loneliness]] are experienced as intensely as physical pain.<ref name=Martin>{{Cite web |url=http://www.onbeing.org/blog/the-violence-of-humiliation/6753 |title=Martin, Courtney E. "The Violence of Humiliation", ''On Being'', September 10, 2014 |date=10 September 2014 |access-date=15 September 2016 |archive-date=22 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022060029/http://www.onbeing.org/blog/the-violence-of-humiliation/6753 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Punishments and interrogation tactics ==
[[File:Garotte - Excerpt from Pedro Berruguete - Saint Dominic Presiding over an Auto-da-fe.jpg|thumb|right|[[Nontrinitarianism|Non-trinitarian]] [[Cathars]] wearing [[loincloth]]s being burnt at the stake in an ''[[auto-da-fé]]'' ({{circa|1495}}, with [[garrote]] and [[phallus]]), presided over by [[Saint Dominic]], oil on panel by [[Pedro Berruguete]].]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1971-041-10, Paris, der Kollaboration beschuldigte Französinnen.jpg|thumb|left|alt=photograph|Paris 1944: Women accused of [[Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy|collaboration with Nazis]] are paraded through the streets barefoot, shaved, and with [[swastika]] burn marks on their faces.]]

Humiliation of one person by another (the humiliator) is often used as a way of asserting power over them, and is a common form of [[oppression]] or [[abuse]] used in a [[Police abuse|police]], military, or [[Prisoner abuse|prison]] context during legal interrogations or illegal [[torture]] sessions. Many now-obsolete public [[punishment]]s were deliberately designed to be humiliating, e.g. [[tarring and feathering]] lawbreakers, [[pillory]], "[[mark of shame]]" ([[social stigma|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 French [[Charivari]]), dramatic public demonstrations of moral disapproval were enacted to humiliate [[Norm (social)|transgressors]] and drive them out of the community.<ref name="Thompson1992">{{Cite journal | last1 = Thompson | first1 = E. P. | author-link = E. P. Thompson | doi = 10.1080/0015587X.1992.9715826 | title = Rough Music Reconsidered | journal = Folklore | volume = 103 | pages = 3–26 | year = 1992 | url = http://www.csulb.edu/~ssayeghc/theory/wintertheory/rough%20music.pdf | access-date = 14 July 2012 | archive-date = 13 February 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200213200248/http://web.csulb.edu/~ssayeghc/theory/wintertheory/rough%20music.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref>

Some U.S. states have experimented with humiliating or [[shaming]] 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 in [[Dongguan]] and [[Guangdong]] in China leading a parade of arrested prostitutes for the purpose of humiliating them. The national [[Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China|Ministry of Public Security]] reprimanded the local police and affirmed that such punishments are not allowed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://english.cntv.cn/program/china24/20100727/100816.shtml|title=Prostitute humiliation dents police image|first=Ning|last=Zhang|date=27 July 2010|access-date=19 January 2012|publisher=[[China Network Television]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121224032845/http://english.cntv.cn/program/china24/20100727/100816.shtml|archive-date=24 December 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== A wider human perspective ==
[[File:The Humiliation of Emperor Valerian by Shapur, King of Persia, by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|thumb|''The Humiliation of [[Valerian (emperor)|Emperor Valerian]] by [[Shapur I|Shapur]], King of Persia'' by [[Hans Holbein the Younger]]]]

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."<ref name=Klein>Klein, Donald C. (Ed.), ''[https://www.humiliationstudies.org/documents/KleinHumiliationDynamic.pdf The Humiliation Dynamic]: Viewing the Task of Prevention From a New Perspective'', Special Issue, Journal of Primary Prevention, Part I, 12, No. 2, 1991. New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/ Plenum Publishers.</ref>

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."<ref name=Lindner />

A [[society]] that suffers from humiliation is an unstable one.  The [[cognitive 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 an [[out group]].  According to [[Jonathan 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 are [[Splitting (psychology)|splitting]] and [[Psychological projection|projection]]; it allows people to define [[Victimisation#Self-victimisation|themselves as victims]]."<ref>Sacks, Jonathan.  [https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-return-of-anti-semitism-1422638910 "The Return of Anti-Semitism."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817051754/https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-return-of-anti-semitism-1422638910 |date=17 August 2018 }} ''The Wall Street Journal''.  30 January 2015.  19 October 2016.</ref>

== See also ==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|

* [[Acts of repudiation]] 
* [[Dehumanization]]
* [[Dignity taking]]
* [[Depression (mood)|Depression]]
* [[Domicide]]
* [[Erotic humiliation]]
* [[Hazing]]
* [[Humiliation of Christ]]
* [[Perpetrators, victims, and bystanders]]
* [[Public humiliation]]
* [[Schadenfreude]]
* [[Self-abasement]]
* [[Social defeat]]
* [[Social emotions]]
* [[Social stigma]]
* [[Torture]]
}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book | last = Lindner | first = Evelin | title = Gender, humiliation, and global security: dignifying relationships from love, sex, and parenthood to world affairs | publisher = Praeger | location = Santa Barbara, California | year = 2010 | series = Contemporary Psychology Series | isbn = 978-0-313-35486-1 }}
* {{cite book | last = Miller | first = William Ian | title = Humiliation and other essays on honor, social discomfort, and violence | publisher = Cornell University Press | location = Ithaca | year = 1993 | isbn = 978-0-8014-8117-8 }}
* {{Cite journal | last = Whisnant | first = Rebecca | author-link = Rebecca Whisnant |title = Pornography, humiliation, and consent | journal = [[Sexualization, Media, and Society]] | volume = 2 | issue = 3 | pages = 237462381666287 | publisher = [[SAGE Publications|SAGE]] | doi = 10.1177/2374623816662876 | date = July–September 2016 | doi-access = free }}
* Henryson, Dean (2014). ″Girl Fighting Exposed.″ Createspace. {{ISBN|978-1493767496}}.
* {{cite thesis |id={{ProQuest|1734870110}} |last1=Green |first1=Robert K.|date=2015 |title=Fat persons finding meaning in their experiences of humiliation: An interpretative phenomenological analysis }}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.humiliationstudies.org/index.php Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies]
*[http://www.emotionalcompetency.com/humiliation.htm Emotional Competency article on Humiliation]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080915175735/http://www.brianlynchmd.com/AT/resources.htm Silvan Tomkins Site Resources on Shame and Humiliation Studies]
*[https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/28102403 German football team humiliate Brazil 7-1 during World Cup]
*Femenia, Nora. [http://www.humiliationstudies.org/documents/FemeniaNY07meeting.pdf Healing Humiliation and the Need for Revenge]

{{Emotion-footer}}
{{abuse}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Humiliation| ]]
[[Category:Pain]]
[[Category:Moral psychology]]
[[Category:Emotions]]
[[Category:Sexual acts]]
[[Category:Harassment and bullying]]
[[Category:Psychological abuse]]
[[Category:Domestic violence]]
[[Category:Sexual fetishism]]
[[Category:Terrorism tactics]]