Changes

Contempt has five "ugly" features. Contempt requires a [[judgment]] concerning the [[appearance]] or standing of the object of contempt. In particular, contempt involves the [[judgment]] that, because of some [[moral]] or [[personal]] failing or defect, the contemned [[person]] has [[compromised]] his or her standing vis-à-vis an interpersonal [[standard]] that the contemnor treats as important. This may have not been done [[Intentional|deliberately]] but by a lack of [[status]]. This lack of status may cause the contemptuous to classify the object of contempt as utterly [[worthless]], or as not fully meeting a particular interpersonal [[standard]]. Therefore, contempt is a [[response]] to a [[perceived]] failure to meet an interpersonal standard. Contempt is also a particular way of regarding or attending to the object of contempt, and this form of regard has an unpleasant [[effective]] element. However, contempt may be [[experienced]] as a highly visceral [[emotion]] similar to disgust, or as cool disregard.

Contempt has five "ugly" features. Contempt requires a [[judgment]] concerning the [[appearance]] or standing of the object of contempt. In particular, contempt involves the [[judgment]] that, because of some [[moral]] or [[personal]] failing or defect, the contemned [[person]] has [[compromised]] his or her standing vis-à-vis an interpersonal [[standard]] that the contemnor treats as important. This may have not been done [[Intentional|deliberately]] but by a lack of [[status]]. This lack of status may cause the contemptuous to classify the object of contempt as utterly [[worthless]], or as not fully meeting a particular interpersonal [[standard]]. Therefore, contempt is a [[response]] to a [[perceived]] failure to meet an interpersonal standard. Contempt is also a particular way of regarding or attending to the object of contempt, and this form of regard has an unpleasant [[effective]] element. However, contempt may be [[experienced]] as a highly visceral [[emotion]] similar to disgust, or as cool disregard.

Contempt has a certain comparative element. In [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hume David Hume]'s [[studies]] of contempt, he suggests that contempt [[essentially]] requires apprehending the “bad qualities” of someone “as they really are” while [[simultaneously]] making a comparison between this person and ourselves. Because of this [[reflexive]] element, contempt also involves what we might term a “positive self-feeling” of the contemptuous. A characteristic of contempt is the [[psychological]] withdrawal or distance one typically feels regarding the object of one’s contempt. This psychological distancing is an [[essential]] way of [[expressing]] one’s non-identification with the object of one’s contempt and it precludes [[sympathetic]] identification with the object of contempt. Contempt for a [[person]] involves a way of [[negatively]] and comparatively regarding or attending to someone who has not fully lived up to an [[Relationship|interpersonal [[standard]] that the person extending contempt thinks is important. This form of regard [[constitutes]] a [[psychological]] withdrawal from the object of contempt.

Contempt has a certain comparative element. In [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hume David Hume]'s [[studies]] of contempt, he suggests that contempt [[essentially]] requires apprehending the “bad qualities” of someone “as they really are” while [[simultaneously]] making a comparison between this person and ourselves. Because of this [[reflexive]] element, contempt also involves what we might term a “positive self-feeling” of the contemptuous. A characteristic of contempt is the [[psychological]] withdrawal or distance one typically feels regarding the object of one’s contempt. This psychological distancing is an [[essential]] way of [[expressing]] one’s non-identification with the object of one’s contempt and it precludes [[sympathetic]] identification with the object of contempt. Contempt for a [[person]] involves a way of [[negatively]] and comparatively regarding or attending to someone who has not fully lived up to an [[Relationship|interpersonal]] [[standard]] that the person extending contempt thinks is important. This form of regard [[constitutes]] a [[psychological]] withdrawal from the object of contempt.

Although contempt may not be a primary [[emotion]] as seen in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Plutchik Robert Plutchik]’s [[color]] wheel-like circumplex [[model]] of [[emotions]], the [[argument]] for whether or not contempt is a ‘basic’ [[emotion]] (universally recognized) has been disputed and disagreed on for years. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ekman Paul Ekman], a widely recognized [[psychologist]], found six [[emotions]] that were [[universally]] recognized: [[anger]], disgust, [[fear]], [[joy]], [[Melancholy|sadness, and [[surprise]]. Findings on contempt are less clear, though there is at least some preliminary [[evidence]] that this [[emotion]] and its [[expression]] are universally recognized. Another [[study]] by Ekman and Karl G. Heider shows [[evidence]] for [[universality]] in a [[study]] across [[cultures]] in which the level of [[agreement]] about a contempt [[expression]] compared to the other six basic emotions (anger, disgust, fear, [[happiness]], sadness, surprise) was greater than 75% in all samples.

Although contempt may not be a primary [[emotion]] as seen in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Plutchik Robert Plutchik]’s [[color]] wheel-like circumplex [[model]] of [[emotions]], the [[argument]] for whether or not contempt is a ‘basic’ [[emotion]] (universally recognized) has been disputed and disagreed on for years. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ekman Paul Ekman], a widely recognized [[psychologist]], found six [[emotions]] that were [[universally]] recognized: [[anger]], disgust, [[fear]], [[joy]], [[Melancholy|sadness, and [[surprise]]. Findings on contempt are less clear, though there is at least some preliminary [[evidence]] that this [[emotion]] and its [[expression]] are universally recognized. Another [[study]] by Ekman and Karl G. Heider shows [[evidence]] for [[universality]] in a [[study]] across [[cultures]] in which the level of [[agreement]] about a contempt [[expression]] compared to the other six basic emotions (anger, disgust, fear, [[happiness]], sadness, surprise) was greater than 75% in all samples.