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Humiliation

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Adolescence
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Synonyms

Degradation; Disgrace; Dishonor; Mortification; Shame

Overview

Humiliation is an intensely painful emotional experience, typically elicited by intentional put-downs from a hostile other, often in the presence of an audience. In other words, one is made to feel lowered in the eyes of others. The experience of humiliation is associated with low self-esteem, depression, PTSD, and even suicidal ideation. Furthermore, its association with anger is believed to motivate thoughts or acts of revenge. Thus humiliation has serious consequences for the self, for others, and for society at large. Humiliation is an understudied emotional experience, one that demands more scholarly attention. The need for additional studies with adolescents is especially strong because humiliation, bullying, and associated revenge may be particularly relevant to this age group.

Everyone knows humiliation when they feel it. But what distinguishes an experience for it to earn the label humiliating? Imagine...

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Correspondence to Jeff Elison .

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Elison, J. (2018). Humiliation. In: Levesque, R.J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33228-4_246

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