Motivation and emotion/Book/2024/Humiliation

Overview

Figure 1 An American soldier (Sergeant Frederick) was humiliating an Iraq detainee by chaining him to his cell wall during interrogation in the Abu Ghraib prison

In March 2004, the U.S. military was using Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq as a detention facility. American soldiers performed many forms of humiliation to Iraq people who were held as detainees in the prison, such as making them standing in uncomfortable or shameful positions.

(Simplify/abbreviate. Make this section more user-friendly. Move detail into subsequent sections//closer alignment)

(synthesising, choose essentials that address the focus questions using the best psychological science)

As Hartling and Luchetta 1999 put, humiliation is "associated with being, or perceiving oneself as being unjustly degraded, ridiculed, or put down-in particular, one's identity has been demeaned or devalued."[Direct quotes need page numbers] Elison and Harter 2007 viewed humiliation as a highly intense emotional reaction to being lowered in the eyes of others. It can be summarized that an individual or a group being devalued or demeaned in the public (Combs et al., 2010; Torres & Bergner, 2012) is the core nature of antecedence to humiliation. Such antecedence can be interpersonal violence (Jennings & Murphy, 2000; Strauchler et al., 2004), power, social exclusion, and rejection (Leask, 2013); bullying (Copeland et al., 2013), ridicule, scorn, contempt, harassment, or social or institutionalised practices, such as racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, or International events, such as ethnic cleansing, armed conflict, genocide. In the case of Abu Ghraib prison abuse, the humiliators were the American soldiers and the victims were Iraq people. It was witnessed by families of the victims and the public. The Iraq detainees as an individuals or the Iraq people as a whole cultural group experienced humiliation from the U.S. army.Since humiliation arises from interpersonal contexts, it can be more adequately understood from a relational perspective rather than a traditional individualistic, intrapsychic models of psychology. In the light of a relational framework, this chapter will investigate humiliation as a motivational and emotional phenomena in terms of its construct, causes, role and management.

Case study

Christ were being humiliated in many ways. He was rejected by his own people in favor of a criminal, being put to shame for doin miracles, being spat upon and mocked by the Roman soldiers, and crucified while being mocked, which is said to be his ultimate form of humiliation. But, did he experience himself being humiliated?

Focus questions:

What are the antecedence of the experience of humiliation? .
What is the significance of managing humiliation?
From a motivational and emotional perspective, what are the components in the constructs of humiliation?
What roles does humiliation serve?
How can humiliation be managed?

The construct of humiliation

Humiliation is a negative, intense and self-conscious emotion (Elison & Harter, 2007; Fontaine, Luyten, De Boeck, & Corveleyn,2001). In the light of relational framework, Gilbert, 1997, Klein, 1991, Miller, 1988 identify interactive quality and interaction orientation as the key features of humiliation. Lindner 2001 states that humiliation is "the strongest force that creates rifts between people and breaks down relationships" Defense oriented, suffering related, interpersonal and social in nature motivation and emotion.

The following behavior can be to approach (Elison & Harter, 2007; Harkavy, 2000; Harter et al.,2003; Hartling & Luchetta, 1999) or to avoid (Ginges & Atran, 2008). Will have more elaboration.

(Elshout et al., 2017)

Neurobiology of humiliation

As a motivational and emotional phenomenon, the experience of humiliation is predicted by interaction between physiological arousal and cognitive appraisal, and is modulated by socio-cultural factors. As a negative emotion, the neurological underpinning of humiliation may share commonality with other negative emotions, such as stress reaction, social exclusion, social phobia. As a self-conscious emotion, humiliation may share the same cognitive processes as other self-conscious emotions.

The prefrontal cortex and cognitive appraisal of humiliation

The prefrontal cortex is involved in cognitive appraisal of humiliation experience. Cognitive appraisal of humiliation often involves the following aspects: sense of self, internalized social norms, evaluation of one's own behavior and projection and prediction of external evaluation of the self and its actions (Lewis, 1995). Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DPC) is involved during cognitive appraisal of the emotional value of the triggering event.

The limbic system and feeling of humiliation

Cognitive appraisal impacts on subsequence subjective feelings of humiliation. Cognitive appraisal of devaluation of the self as unjust (Combs, Campbell, Jackson &Smith, 2010; Ginges & Atran, 2008; Hartling & Luchetta, 1999; Klein, 1991; Walker & Knauer, 2011), which leads to anger; or the cognitive appraisal of the devaluation in terms of self-blame, which leads to shame and guilt (Carig & Pheobe, 1986).The limbic system (LeDoux, 1996) underpins an organism's behavioral and cognitive system designed for reacting to potential danger (Ohman & Mineka, 2001). The amygdala reacts to threats (Hariri, Tessitor, Mattay, Fera, Weinberger, 2002), especially when the value of the threat is socially learned ( Lieberman, Hariri, Jarcho, Eisenberger, & Bookheimer, 2005). The brain in social pain. Pain activates insular cortex.

Brain and motivated behaviors of humiliation

Negative stimuli activates ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VPC) that is responsible for emotional control. Cortical levels of people being devalued in the public are higher than people being devalued in the private. (Gruenewald, Kemeny, Aziz, & Fahey, 2004).The cognitive process of public devaluation/degradation is intense and generates increased attention and cortical activities in the experience of humiliation compared to the experience of other intense emotions such as happiness or anger (Otten & Jonas 2014). Blood pressure arises in people whose social status was threatened (Scheepers, Ellemers, & Sintemaartensdijk,2009). Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis also becomes active in people who are undergo public evaluation (Otten & Jonas, 2014). Cortical levels and HPA are responsible for fight and flight responses, which competes with the cognitive resources of VPC for emotional control. People who experience high levels of humiliation showed decreased cognitive functioning and were less able to execute impulse control (Otten & Jonas, 2013).

Psychological needs behind humiliation

Public/social devaluation/degradation thwart psychological needs for autonomy, competence, relatedness and power.

Humiliation is considered a serious disconnection and people who experience humiliation are in condemned isolation (J.B. Miller, 1988)--"feeling locked out of the possibility of social connection" (p.5) From a relational perspective, humiliation is a form of relational disconnection, in the opposite to growth-oriented relationships. The psychological need of relatedness is thwarted and leads to psychological or behavioral problems.

Autonomy
Competence
Relatedness
Power

Humiliation is associated with being lowered in social status in the eyes of others. Low social status negative impacts physical and emotional health (Wilkinson, 2006).

Subjective feelings of humiliation

Tangney and Fischer 1995 Related feelings to humiliation (part of a family of self-conscious emotions, socially learned and culturally variable) (Ledoux, 1999).

Anger (Frijda, Kuipers, & ter Schure, 1989; De Cremer, Wubben, & Brebels, 2008; Frijda et al., 1989). Anger can arise as a result of humiliation. But they are not the same. Have a discuss about anger and humiliation. Anger stays when people being humiliation think the devaluation of the self is unjust.
Shame (Lewis, 1987; Stolorow, 2010; Tracy & Robins, 2007). Shame and humiliation appear undistinguished in the research for a long time. Humiliation is seen being defined in terms of shame, such as in American Psychological Association's (N.D.), humiliation is "a feeling of shame as a result of being disgraced or deprecated."(citation?). Tomkins (1963) theorized a "shame-humiliation" complex; Lewis (1988) used "shame" to superordinately refer to both shame and humiliation, and Stolorow (2010) conceived humiliation as a variant of shame. Humiliation started being perceived as a discrete emotion since Klein 1991b articulated that the experience of humiliation requires interaction of a humiliator, a victim, and a witness (Hartling & Lindner, 2016). Both shame and humiliation impact on the whole self rather than an aspect of the self (Klein, 1991b; Lewis, 1987). We have understood humifaction and shame are different emotions. Humiliation requires an interaction where one is degraded by someone more powerful (S.B. Miller, 1988), whereas shame is a negative evaluation of the self by the self. People can experience shame while being humiliated (though they may not experience humiliation while feeling shamed?) research also shows that humiliation evokes more long-lasting cortical activation than shame. Humiliation may be transformed into shame when people think they deserve the devaluation of the self. When people being humiliated feel shameful, aggressive behaviors can be inhibited and they avoid being exposed personally (Hartling & Luchetta, 1999).
Embarrassment (Miller, 2007). Antecedence to embarrassment is some aspect of behavior or persona being exposed, which is considered inappropriate (Babcock, 1988; Babcock & Sabini, 1989). Antecedence to humiliation is the self's identity being devalued and degraded.
Guilt. Guilt can happen as a result of humiliation. People being humiliated may internalize their humiliation as guilt and become vulnerable to future humiliation. The internalized guilt can be the result of feeling powerlessness in the face of humiliation. It can also be a coping mechanism for children not being to overcome the power of their humiliators. Guilt also can be used as a tool to minimize awareness of the victims and make them believe the humiliation is good for them (A. Miller, 1983).
Fear of humiliation (Klein, 1991b, Siler et al., 1987, Hendin, 1994). This is an interesting emotion, it is not actual humiliation itself, it is the feeling of fear about humiliation. This kind of fear can make a person to choose suicide.

Motivated behaviors of humiliation

The strongest negative emotion

"Pervasive and all too often destructive influences in the behavior of individuals, groups, organizations, and nations" (Klein, 1991a)

"All the cruel and brutal things, even genocide, starts with the humiliation of one individual" (Whack, 2013)

"There is nobody more dangerous than one who has been humiliated, even when you humiliate him rightly" ---Nelson Mandela(Ripley, 2021, P123)

Lindner (Lindner, 2002) called humiliation the strongest of human negative emotions.

Motivated behaviors of humiliation

Intense emotion is more motivationally relevant (Barrett, Gross, Christensen, & Benvenuto, 2001; Frijda, Ortony, Sonnemans, & Clore, 1992; Smith & Pope, 1992) and signals the need for active coping (Lazarus, 1997, 1999).

Research shows that humiliation, as the strongest negative experience, is associated with powerlessness and dehumanization (Silver, Conte, Miceli, and Poggi, 1986), low self-esteem (Stamm, 1978), Depression (Kendler et al., 2003), suicidal behavior (Rich, Sherman, & Fowler, 1990; Hendin, 1994), School shooting (Harrison & Bowers, 2010; Harter, Low, & Whitesell, 2003), homicide (Hale, 1994), mental illness (Klein, 1992), PTSD, organizational inefficiency, international conflict (Klein, 1992), War (Harkavy, 2000),Terrorism (Fontan, 2006; Post, Ruby, & Shaw, 2002)and genocide (Lindner, 2009).

The degree of intensity and types of subjective feelings of people being humiliated influence what kind of behavior the person will take.

Therefore, psychological intervention is significant.

Variables on humiliation

Different factors play out during the course of humiliation. For an intension or action to be experienced as unjustly demeaning or humbling, its specific meanings understood by the humiliator, the victim and the witness emerge from a context of interpersonal experience, cultural and evolutionary heritage (Trumbull, 2008). As a psychological response to an interpersonal event, humiliation can be intensified or modulated by social learning (Trumbull, 2008). Certain people paid attention to certain event and felt humiliated, while others did not. For people who feel humiliated in the same event, the intensity of humiliation varies from person to person. ( I am not sure if this is going to be a separate section or can be moved to the "Psychophysiological profile of humiliation yet) For example, people may perceive being humiliated during admission to a psychiatric emergency (Svindseth et al., 2013).

Socio-cultural variables

Socio-cultural aspect of humiliation. For example, women may experience humiliation more than men, because men are dominant group in the society. Children are more likely to internalize guilt in humiliation because they are powerless in front of adults. (Lacey, 2011)

Comparison between complex hierarchy society and egalitarian society
Comparison between individualistic culture and collective culture
What does humiliation mean to Indigenous people? Research has identified that historical trauma of humiliation can be passed through generation and normalized within a culture. The conflicts between humiliators and victims can run through many generations and the cycles of violent revenge perpetuate (Hartling 2007).

Mental and personality variables

(people with mental or personality disorders prone to feel humiliated or choose humiliation)

Depression
Narcissism
Masochism

Functions of humiliation

Case Study

When Gandhi arrived in South Africa, he was not allowed to sit with European passengers in the stagecoach because of his skin colour and heritage. He got beaten when he refused. He was kicked into a gutter because he walked near a house and thrown off a train after refusing to leave the first-class. One time, a police officer kicked him out of the public footpath without warning. Gandhi found it humiliating and considered the treatment he had as inhumane. Gandhi, who was initially not interested in politics, entered politics and decided to fight for rights.

Empirical studies of humiliation is rare and this make it difficult to discuss its role in social life (Leidner et al., 2012). The discussion of its role in social life may be view from the role of emotions in general, that is, emotions serve the purpose of individual adaptation to environmental opportunities and challenges.

However, research has shown the consequences of humiliation range from a spectrum between anger and powerlessness. When people experience injustice, they are more likely to act on anger and take outrageous hostility. When people experience powerlessness, they are more likely to withdraw and inhibit aggression (Leidner et al., 2012) So, humiliation may result in violence, serving the victims to claim their social status; or may result in mental illness of the victims (how would mental illness serve people to adapt?). And humiliation on a large scale, like the one in Iraq, certainly brings global attention and an improvement on human rights.

Another role humiliation can play is that in various settings of life, take medical admissions and treatments (Svindsth et al., 2013) for example, if humiliation of the patients caused by certain actions is called into attention, those actions can be improved and patients' medical experience can be improved. Or, in educational setting, etc.

A pathway to violence
A pathway to mental disorders
A pathway to social improvement

Quiz

The humiliation felt by Gandhi served a vital role in his chosen path, which was:

- Initiating a war with South Africa

- Developing PTSD

- Leading social movements against racism

Management of humiliation

Case study: movie "the insult".

As a motivational and emotional phenomenon, humiliation is useful in helping people being adaptive to environmental threat and loss. Some people turned to revenge as corrective actions and some people suffered from depression, PTSD and other mental disorders. The goal in management of humiliation is not to change how people feel when they experience humiliation, is to help people to choose a motivated-appropriate course of adaptive action. Management is more effective when it fulfills three basic needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness. Fulfillment of growth-oriented needs, cognitive reevaluation, and emotional regulation may lead to changes in motivated behaviors of people who experience humiliation.

Use cortical brain to regulate the subcortical brain is a key component in management of humiliation. Regulate the insular cortex, HPA axis and cortical levels. Regulate the DPC in evaluation of emotional values of the triggering event. Regulate anterior cingulate cortex in cognitive control of decision-making goal pursuit and actions. Cultivate positive emotions. Turn the goal of taking revenge to the goal of self-growth.

Humiliation Inventory can be used by therapists to evaluate the internal experiences of humiliation of people in therapy, for treatment or prevention.

A relational framework

A relational framework focuses on growth-oriented management of humiliation
Why it can be used for a growth-oriented management of humiliation
How it can be used for a growth-oriented management of humiliation

Theories and principles

Emotional self-regulation (self-regulatory theory?) Self-regulation is contingent on cognitive capacity.
Self-determination theory

Neural correlates of self-determined people, i.e. personal agency: experience oneself or others as the cause of action, oneself be the initiator and regulator of actions. Neural activities were observed in the prefrontal cortex, insular cortex, cerebellum and motor- related regions during self-generated behaviors ( Haggard, 2008 Haggard, P. (2008). Human volition: towards a neuroscience of will. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 9, 934–46. ) Anterior insular cortex (AIC) is more associated with personal agentic behavior ( Farrer et al., 2003).

Prosocial behavior and autonomy orientation and autonomy support.

Learned helplessness

Empirical research

Develop motivational and emotional resources
Identify protective and risk factors
The importance of therapeutic relationship

Psychotherapy

Cognitive behavior therapy. Use cognitive reappraisal as a top-down emotion regulation to interpret the antecedent event in a different way. Cognitive reappraisal is associated with reduced amygdala activity and increased prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity.
Acceptance. Become aware of one's thoughts and emotions without trying to change them. (what are the neurological bases for acceptance?)
Psychopharmacotherapy.

Figures

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Table 1. Descriptive Caption Which Explains The Table and its Relevant to the Text - Johari Window Model

	Known to self	Not known to self
Known to others	Open area	Blind spot
Not known to others	Hidden area	Unknown

Conclusion

(practical messages, answers to the questions)

The antecedent event to experience of humiliation is social-relational in nature. A relational framework is used and humiliation is identified as an inter-personal, inter-group experience rather than intra-personal.
Upon the antecedent event, the cortical and subcortical brain interacts, briefly state the interactions.
Their interactions lead the person/persons involved to interpret whether it is a humiliating experience, to feel either anger, shame or guilt, to act with approach or avoidance. Subsequently, it may be inferred whether such person/persons may take revenge or become fragmented within.
During the interaction of the cortical and subcortical brain in this intense processing of a negative triggering event, socio-cultural factors can influence the interpretation, subjective feelings and the subsequent actions.
Humiliation and its consequences reflect the role of emotions in relation to adapt to the environment.
Management of humiliation focuses on creating growth-oriented motivations and emotions. It is related to the role of cortical brain regulating the subcortical brain. The introduce of relational framework helped in cognitive reappraisal of the antecedent event and fulfil psychological needs. The relational framework can be applied in therapeutic process and make it effective.
Future research may examine activities of DPC in people who experience humiliation and who do not, in people become angry during the experience of humiliation and in people become shameful and guilty. Also, the right brain is associated with avoidance-oriented feelings and left brain with approach-oriented feelings, future research can look into activities in right and left brain in people who show anger, shame or guilt during the experience of humiliation.
Restoration of the psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness as a result of growth-oriented management of humiliation. Future research can also ask its relationship with the restoration of power. Since human connection is very important in management of humiliation, would the need for power and its restoration be an obstacle.

References (systematic review?)

Elshout, M., Nelissen, R. M. A., & van Beest, I. (2017). Conceptualising humiliation. Cognition and Emotion, 31(8), 1581–1594. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2016.1249462

Hariri, A. R., Tessitore, A., Mattay, V. S., Fera, F., & Weinberger, D. R. (2002). The Amygdala Response to Emotional Stimuli: A Comparison of Faces and Scenes. NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.), 17(1), 317–323. https://doi.org/10.1006/nimg.2002.1179

Hartling, L.M.,(2007). Humiliation: Real Pain, A Pathway to Violence. http://www.cchla.ufpb.br/rbse/HartleyArt.pdf

Klein, D. C. (1991). The humiliation dynamic: An overview. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 12(2), 93–121. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02015214

Lacey, D. (2011). The Role of Humiliation in Collective Political Violence. University of Sydney.

Ledoux, Joseph E, The Emotional Brain : The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life (Phoenix, Pbk. ed., 1999)

Leidner, B., Sheikh, H., & Ginges, J. (2012). Affective Dimensions of Intergroup Humiliation. PloS One, 7(9), e46375–e46375. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0046375

Lieberman, M. D., Hariri, A., Jarcho, J. M., Eisenberger, N. I., & Bookheimer, S. Y. (2005). An fMRI investigation of race-related amygdala activity in African-American and Caucasian-American individuals. Nature Neuroscience, 8(6), 720–722. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1465

Öhman, A., & Mineka, S. (2001). Fears, Phobias, and Preparedness: Toward an Evolved Module of Fear and Fear Learning. Psychological Review, 108(3), 483–522. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.108.3.483

Otten, M., & Jonas, K. J. (2014). Humiliation as an intense emotional experience: Evidence from the electro-encephalogram. Social Neuroscience, 9(1), 23–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2013.855660

Svindseth, M. F., Nøttestad, J.,A., & Dahl, A. A. (2013). Perceived humiliation during admission to a psychiatric emergency service and its relation to socio-demography and psychopathology. BMC Psychiatry, 13, 217. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-13-217

Tomkins, S. S. (1963). Affect, imagery, consciousness: The negative affects. Springer.

Trumbull, D. (2008). Humiliation: the trauma of disrespect. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry, 36(4), 643-. https://doi.org/10.1521/jaap.2008.36.4.643

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External links

Emotional competency article on humiliation

Human dignity and humiliation study