Admiration
Part of a series on |
Emotions |
---|
Admiration is a social emotion felt by observing people of competence, talent, or skill exceeding standards.
Definition
Sara Algoe and
Function
Learning of skills has been so important to our evolution that we have come to feel positively about talented or skillful people, in order to approach them and copy their actions.[5] Admiration is the emotion that facilitates learning in social groups.[2]
Relation to attainability
Following from the view that admiration's function is learning and self-improvement,[2] some authors have proposed that admiration will only activate when we believe improvement is possible for us,[1][3] however one empirical study has suggested the opposite, that admiration is akin to passive contemplation of another's superiority, while envy is the motivating emotion which activates when a better performance is attainable to us.[6]
Associated behaviours
Behaviours concerning the self
Witnessing admirable acts has been shown to increase motivation for self-improvement in the domain of witnessed excellence (e.g., sporting performance), but also a more general motivation to work towards achieving one's own life goals.
Behaviours concerning the relationship
Admiration is also associated with a tendency to praise the admired act to others,[1] and a desire for contact and proximity with the admired.[7]
Group-based
Admiration has also been studied in an intergroup context by Susan Fiske and her colleagues. They propose that admiration is the emotion we feel towards those social groups we perceive as competent (or high-status) and warm (friendly and cooperative) (e.g., in studies involving students in the US, an example of a group perceived as competent and warm is the British).[8] Admiration is related to intentions to associate, cooperate with, and help members from groups that are admired.[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Algoe, S. B., & Haidt, J. (2009). Witnessing excellence in action: The ‘other-praising’ emotions of elevation, gratitude, and admiration. The journal of positive psychology, 4(2), 105–127.
- ^ a b c Haidt, J., & Seder, P. (2009). Admiration and Awe. Oxford Companion to Affective Science (pp. 4–5). New York: Oxford University Press.
- ^ a b c Smith, R. H. (2000). Assimilative and contrastive emotional reactions to upward and downward social comparisons. Handbook of social comparison: Theory and research, 173–200.
- ^ a b Immordino-Yang, M. H., McColl, A., Damasio, H., & Damasio, A. (2009). Neural correlates of admiration and compassion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(19), 8021.
- ^ Henrich, J., & Gil-White, F. J. (2001). The evolution of prestige: Freely conferred deference as a mechanism for enhancing the benefits of cultural transmission. Evolution and human behavior, 22(3), 165–196.
- ^ Van De Ven, N., Zeelenberg, M., & Pieters, R. (2011). Why Envy Outperforms Admiration. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(6), 784–795.
- ^ a b Cuddy, A. J. ., Fiske, S. T., & Glick, P. (2007). The BIAS map: Behaviors from intergroup affect and stereotypes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(4), 631.
- ^ Fiske, S. T., Cuddy, A. J. C., Glick, P., & Xu, J. (2002). A model of (often mixed) stereotype content: Competence and warmth respectively follow from perceived status and competition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6), 878–902.