Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Protecting Self-Esteem

Protecting Self-Esteem

Self-esteem, a central component of psychological well-being, is actively maintained through various cognitive and behavioral strategies. Individuals employ specific mechanisms to preserve a positive self-concept and mitigate threats to their self-worth, particularly in contexts involving social evaluation or personal feedback. Four primary techniques are commonly used to sustain self-esteem.Manipulating AppraisalsOne prominent strategy involves manipulating appraisals from others. Individuals...

Deindividuation

Deindividuation

Deindividuation is a form of social influence on an individual’s behavior such that the individual engages in unusual or non-normal behavior while in a group setting. Why? Because in these group settings, the individual no longer sees themselves as an individual anymore, disinhibiting their behavior and personal restraint.

Sources of Self-Esteem III: Social Comparison

Sources of Self-Esteem III: Social Comparison

Social comparison plays a fundamental role in the evaluation of personal success and self-worth. Rather than assessing our achievements in isolation, we interpret their significance relative to personal goals and critically in comparison to the performance of others. A grade of B in a mathematics exam might elicit pride if one's expectation was a C, yet result in disappointment if an A was anticipated or if peers achieved superior results. These comparative evaluations illustrate how both...

Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping

Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping

People can go to great lengths to protect their self-image and present themselves in ways that they want others to see them. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy, Goffman believed that we use “impression management” to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present (Goffman, 1959). Think about...

Social Facilitation

Social Facilitation

Not all intergroup interactions lead to negative outcomes. Sometimes, being in a group situation can improve performance. Social facilitation occurs when an individual performs better when an audience is watching than when the individual performs the behavior alone. This typically occurs when people are performing a task for which they are skilled.

Need for Self-Esteem

Need for Self-Esteem

The human need for self-esteem has long intrigued psychologists, leading to the development of several theories that explore its evolutionary and functional significance. Among the most influential are the sociometer, hierometer, and terror management theories. Each offers a unique perspective on why people strive for self-worth and how it shapes behavior and social interaction.Sociometer TheoryAccording to sociometer theory, self-esteem functions as an internal gauge of social acceptance. It...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Intuitive Thinking is Associated with Stronger Belief in Physiognomy and Confidence in the Accuracy of Facial Impressions.

Journal of nonverbal behavior·2025

Same author

Investigating lived ostracism: valid causal inference requires articulating the causal estimand.

The Journal of social psychology·2025

Same author

Measured but Not Induced Perspective-taking Predicts Success in Coalition Formation.

Personality & social psychology bulletin·2025

Same author

Now that I see it your way, I choose you: Visuo-spatial perspective-taking affects partner selection during coalition formation.

Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006)·2025

Same author

Facial Temperature Responses to Ostracism in Women: Exploring Nasal Thermal Signatures of Different Coping Behaviors.

Psychophysiology·2025

Same author

Your lies don't leave me cold: Assessing direct, indirect and physiological measures of lie detection.

Acta psychologica·2024

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 13, 2026

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

Conceptualising humiliation.

Maartje Elshout^1,2, Rob M A Nelissen¹, Ilja van Beest¹

¹a Department of Social Psychology , Tilburg University , Tilburg , The Netherlands.

Cognition & Emotion

|October 28, 2016

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study defines humiliation using a prototype approach, identifying key features like feeling powerless and inferior. Prototypical humiliation involves an audience and results in emotions such as disappointment, anger, and shame.

Keywords:

Humiliation anger belittlement emotions prototype analysis shame

More Related Videos

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: August 25, 2023

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test

Published on: November 19, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2026

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: August 25, 2023

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test

Published on: November 19, 2015

Area of Science:

Psychology
Social Psychology
Emotion Research

Background:

Humiliation lacks a clear, empirically supported definition.
It is often conflated with the emotion of shame.
A precise conceptualization is needed for better understanding and research.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop an empirically derived definition of humiliation.
To explore the core features and prototype of the humiliation experience.
To differentiate humiliation from related emotions like shame and anger.

Main Methods:

Employed a prototype perspective for conceptualization.
Identified and analyzed 61 distinct features associated with humiliation.
Examined the overlap and divergence of features with shame and anger.

Main Results:

Identified core features of prototypical humiliation: feeling powerless, small, inferior, being brought down, presence of an audience, appraisal of unfairness.
Found overlapping features with shame (e.g., losing self-esteem, audience presence) and anger (e.g., being brought down, unfairness).
The specific combination of features influences whether humiliation leans towards shame or anger.

Conclusions:

Humiliation is a distinct emotional experience with identifiable prototypical features.
Understanding the feature composition can differentiate humiliation from shame and anger.
This prototype-based definition advances the empirical study of humiliation.