Schadenfreude
(/ˈʃɑːdənfrɔɪdə/;
is a German term which means;
the experience of pleasure, joy, or self-satisfaction that comes from getting to know about or witnessing
the troubles, failures, or humiliation of another. Schadenfreude is a complicated emotion where, instead of feeling sympathy, one takes
satisfaction from looking at a persons' misfortune. This emotion is displayed more in kids than adults. However, adults also revel in
schadenfreude, even though usually they disguise it. Schadenfreude is a compound of Schaden, "damage,
harm", and Freude, "joy". The German word was first cited in English texts in 1852 and
1867. Researchers have observed that
there are 3 driving forces behind schadenfreude: aggression, social justice, and rivalry.
Schadenfreude
can be both intentional and unintentional, but it almost always involves some
degree of malicious joy. People who are ‘schadenfreudic’ enjoy watching others
suffer, regardless of whether they have actually caused the suffering.
Schadenfreude is often seen as an evil emotion because it leads people to feel
pleasure from another person’s sorrowful experience without necessarily feeling
any remorse themselves. In fact, many people believe that schadenfreude has
negative consequences on our relationships with other humans and even animals.
While
most people generally associate schadenfreude with negative emotions, a few
people actually enjoy feeling malicious joy. They may find pleasure in
witnessing someone's suffering or humiliation, or in making them feel
uncomfortable or unwelcome. They may feel guilty or enjoy the sense of power
that comes with causing someone harm. While these people may be rare, they
illustrate the full range of schadenfreude expression.
There
are many reasons why people might feel Schadenfreude. Maybe the person being
hurt is someone the person dislikes or has a rival relationship with. Maybe the
person witnessing the suffering is happy because they are enjoying the misery
of others. Whatever the reason, feeling Schadenfreude is often unpleasant.
Self-esteem has a negative relationship with the frequency and intensity of
schadenfreude experienced by an individual; individuals with less self-esteem
tend to experience schadenfreude more frequently and intensely.
Conversely, for
someone with low self-esteem, someone who is more successful poses a threat to
their sense of self, and seeing this person fall can be a source of comfort
because they perceive a relative improvement in their internal or in-group
standing.
