The feeling of shame most often arises in the face of the public, which condemns for what has been done or what has been said. This feeling originates and is fueled by the presence in society of a generally accepted moral code and code of rules. But are we always ashamed of ourselves?
A kind of shame
Usually blush has to do with your behavior. But it is interesting that shame comes for what you did not. For example, for the poor behavior of your child or when a stranger kisses a girl in public transport, and you are ashamed of them. The reasons for this discomfort may be your inner taboo on such manners or the desire to take responsibility for someone.
The first signal that will inform about this is embarrassment. He says that the event is beyond conventionality. And the feeling of embarrassment for an outsider is called Spanish shame. We will talk about him further.
Expression History
In Russian, the phrase “Spanish shame” appeared after 2000, it came to us from English, where it sounds like spanish shame . And the ancestor of phraseology was the Spanish term verguenza ajena , which, exactly, had the meaning of "shame for another." True, there is another interpretation of the origin of the term in which Spain is out of work, as it supposedly came to us from Hebrew, where "isa" is translated as "aspen".
In the popular apocryphal version, Judas, who betrayed Christ, hanged himself on an aspen. The tree was ashamed of the choice, although it was not guilty of this. But, according to popular beliefs, the tree is punished, because ancient myths connect the trembling of its branches with God's curse imposed for making a cross from it for the crucifixion of Christ.
Thus, one must understand that "Spanish shame" is not a scientific formulation of a psychological state, but an established judgment, namely a meme.
Semantic meaning
With the history of the origin of phraseology, we figured out. Now we will decipher the semantic load of the expression. "Spanish shame" means that someone feels awkward for the wrong actions of other personalities. Psychologists assure that a sense of shame for others arises when a person recognizes himself as part of a people who creates unseemly acts.
Membership criteria can be varied: gender, age, position, external similarity. But if this general touches you, you will feel uncomfortable. So it becomes apparent a different attitude to one event of different people. For example, at a banquet, an unknown woman got drunk and dances on the table - you may be embarrassed or amused. If this was your girlfriend, then you will surely experience a sense of shame.
Manifestation of tact
The expression "Spanish shame" is caused by the appearance of a painful emotion that arose due to the awareness of the absurdity of fellow citizens' behavior, which offends the concepts of decency and modesty. Psychologist Elliot Aronson in his book wrote that we often compare ourselves with people around us, and this, in turn, increases our self-esteem. Looking at the person committing stupidity, we are satisfied with the humiliation of the poor thing, mentally saying that we would never end up in the role of a failure.
I don’t want to believe that we have fun watching others torment and humiliate themselves. Meanwhile, television ratings and the number of video views on the Internet prove this hypothesis. If in life the oversight of others does not always bring pleasure to its witnesses, then when an actor falls into a cake in a movie, it causes genuine laughter among many viewers. During the survey it was revealed: the laughing subject is experiencing internal constraint, but it is accompanied by comfort, which is even worse for someone than him.
What conclusions can be drawn?
Not only beauty will save the world, but also a society of self-sufficient and harmonious individuals. Individuals with an atrophied sense of conscience should be wary. Decency must be regulated in the process of socialization and raising a child in order to avoid negative consequences. Decency - a positive symptom of the essence, if it is expressed in moderation. Embarrassment serves as a marker that something is going wrong. We look away to “save the face” of someone who is in a difficult situation - this is empathy for emotional empathy, an excellent emotional outburst that makes us better. So, it should be understood that Spanish shame is a positive feature in the characterization of the individual.