WEBVTT - What is Schadenfreude?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff from how Stuff works dot com where

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<v Speaker 1>smart Happens. Hi Am Marshall Brain with today's question, what

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<v Speaker 1>is schadenfreude? Schadenfreude is one of those words that you

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<v Speaker 1>hear about once a month, and because it's a German

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<v Speaker 1>word and it sounds kind of funny, you may be

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<v Speaker 1>wondering what it actually means and how it made its

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<v Speaker 1>way into the English language. If you look the word

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<v Speaker 1>up in the dictionary, the definition goes like this, It's

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<v Speaker 1>satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune. There are

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<v Speaker 1>lots of examples of schadenfreude on the web, in particular.

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<v Speaker 1>For example, the popular site fail blog is one way

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<v Speaker 1>of experiencing schadenfreude. You get to see other people have

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<v Speaker 1>accidents or other kinds of failures, and apparently this is

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<v Speaker 1>incredibly popular because it's one of the most subscribe to

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<v Speaker 1>and watch channels on YouTube. Chan Freuda is different from

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<v Speaker 1>sadistic pleasure, where the person is actually causing the misfortune

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<v Speaker 1>through cruelty. Sadism is defined as any enjoyment in being cruel.

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<v Speaker 1>The person experiencing schadenfreuda plays no role in causing the misfortune.

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<v Speaker 1>He she is simply the observer. The alternative to schadenfreuda,

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<v Speaker 1>of course, would be compassion, which is defined as a

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<v Speaker 1>feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who's stricken

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<v Speaker 1>by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

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<v Speaker 1>So why do we get pleasure out of another person's pain?

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<v Speaker 1>Scientific American recently took a look at the whole phenomenon

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<v Speaker 1>of schadenfreude, and it seems like it's wired into the

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<v Speaker 1>human brain through the reward center. In the article that

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<v Speaker 1>Scientific American wrote, they say scientists who study schadenfreuda are

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<v Speaker 1>learning that this secret happiness that another person's loss has

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<v Speaker 1>biological or pinnings. The feeling registers in the brain as

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<v Speaker 1>a distinct form of pleasure, a satisfaction comparable to that

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<v Speaker 1>of eating a good meal. Schan Freuda does not seem

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<v Speaker 1>to be a particularly endearing feature of the human brain.

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<v Speaker 1>The article spirals downward from there, pointing out that people

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<v Speaker 1>in political parties can as a group, experience glee when

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<v Speaker 1>bad things happen to the opposition party or can be

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<v Speaker 1>pinned onto the other party. People group by race can

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<v Speaker 1>use schadenfreude to encourage prejudice against people of other races,

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<v Speaker 1>and in some cases, schadenfreude can morph into sadism. If

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<v Speaker 1>you feel good at another's misfortune, why not cause more

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<v Speaker 1>misfortune for them yourself? What can you do to avoid

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<v Speaker 1>this process? The article suggests recognizing schadenfreud as it happens,

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps even discussing it and its effects with others, in

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<v Speaker 1>order to inoculate yourself against the more deleterious effects if

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<v Speaker 1>it were to escalate. As the article puts it, this

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<v Speaker 1>may help to avoid a slippery slope towards sadism, or

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<v Speaker 1>you could work the other angle. Ramp up compassion when

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<v Speaker 1>you feel schadenfreud is starting to take effect. For more

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