Questions for ‘Everyone experiences malicious joy now and then’ 

To accompany ‘Everyone experiences malicious joy now and then‘

SCIENCE

Before Reading:

1. Imagine a friend gleefully tells you about another peer’s random misfortune. How would you feel upon hearing about the peer’s misfortune and your friend’s response? How do you think most people would feel about hearing this? To what extent do you think your reaction to hearing this confession is normal?
2. Give an example of a scenario when you think it seems acceptable — or at least mostly acceptable — to feel pleasure at someone suffering some kind of misfortune.

During Reading:

1. From what language does the word “schadenfreude” originate?
2. What is schadenfreude? Give one example of a scenario when a person might experience this emotion.
3. In the 2014 study investigating how young children feel schadenfreude, what kind of “accident” were the mothers asked to fake?
4. What is “justice” schadenfreude?
5. Give an example of a scenario that might trigger a response in the anterior cingulate cortex of the brain.
6. Explain the role of the brain’s ventral striatum in the context of this story.
7. How does “aversion” schadenfreude differ from “justice” schadenfreude?
8. According to the study conducted by Antonio Cabrera-Vázquez and his team, what was the relationship between a teen’s tendency to experience “justice” schadenfreude and their likelihood to cyberbully others?
9. Loren Toussaint says that “hatred destroys everything it touches, including you.” Give one example of how someone’s unmanaged hatred can affect their physical or mental health.
10. What does Toussaint see as the best way to manage our difficult emotions, such as hatred or desire for revenge?

After Reading:

1. What is one way that schadenfreude can cause harm? What is one way that schadenfreude can be used in a positive way? Point to examples from this story to support your answers. Consider how this emotion might play out in a social environment where you spend a lot of time, such as school, an online community or a sports team. In this setting, to what extent do you think this emotion causes more harm or more good? Explain your answer.
2. Describe a scenario when you believe you would feel “justice” schadenfreude. Describe a scenario when you believe you might feel “aversion” schadenfreude. How does it make you feel to recognize — even if only to yourself — that you are capable of feeling some pleasure at another person’s misfortune? (Feel free to be honest.)
3. Why do you think there is no English word for this emotion? To what extent do you think a person benefits by recognizing they can feel this emotion? In other words, is it better to ignore this emotion or to acknowledge it? Briefly explain your answer.