What does the expression "Spanish shame" mean and where does it come from?

Spanish shame is the feeling that a person feels when he becomes ashamed of the misdeeds committed by the people around him. Surely each of us experienced similar sensations in our lives, not even guessing what the name of the emotions that arise in such cases are. Why this feeling arises, as well as where its unusual name came from - we will deal with these and other questions in our article.

Spanish shame is syndrome of empathic feelings of awkwardness that occurs as a result of other people's actions. In the traditional sense of shame, one's own actions and emotions become the main objects of experience. The Spanish syndrome manifests itself in cases where other people behave stupidly or dishonestly. That is, its main difference is that it arises for actions that the ashamed person himself did not perform.

To understand what the concept of "Spanish shame" means, it will be enough just to remember your own feelings that arose at the moment when someone else in your presence committed an unseemly or reckless act. It may seem that this is a mistake of a stranger, so it is he who needs to be ashamed, and not you, but it happens that it becomes difficult to look at the ongoing incident, and feelings of inner discomfort and awkwardness reach extreme limits.

Provoke the emergence of Spanish shame can not only the behavior of relatives or friends, but also absurdities that are committed by completely strangers, for example, the host of a television program or even a film character who finds himself in an indecent situation. Such sensations can be obtained anywhere - on the street during a walk, at a party, at school, on a trip, on vacation.

We figured out what the term "Spanish shame" means. Next, let's dwell on features of its manifestation. In psychology, the manifestation of Spanish shame is explained by the fact that a person can either associate yourself with an outsider who has committed an unseemly offense, either to feel some connection with her (family ties, ordinary friendship, as well as belonging to the same collective), or simply has any similarity that may cause a manifestation of empathy.

It is known that the reaction to deviant behavior in different people is manifested differently.... For example, when an absolutely stranger begins to behave rudely, vulgarly or stupidly, then in some cases it causes fun and laughter. But if a similar phenomenon is observed in the behavior of a relative or close friend, this can cause a state of extreme awkwardness.

Here are some examples of manifestation spanish shame.

1. During a party or meal, one of your close friends drank too much alcohol. As a result, he begins to behave cheekily, to speak indecently, to joke too vulgarly. Observing his behavior, you begin to feel a sense of awkwardness, although you have nothing to do with the actions of this drunkard and are absolutely not responsible for him.
2. Often, a feeling of Spanish shame can be obtained by observing the attitude of one of the spouses towards the elderly parents of his half, who live with them under the same roof.
3. In public transport, there are times when you have to blush for young people who are rude to pensioners or disabled people who ask to give them a seat on a crowded bus. Although it's even a shame to talk about it - a girl or a guy should themselves give up seats to such passengers without reminders.

The origin of the phrase "Spanish shame" has not been clarified for certain. Some say that the name of the feeling comes from the English idiom "spanish shame", based on the well-known phraseological unit "la verguenza ajena", which literally translates from Spanish as "shame of another." True, the Spaniards can in no way be called the most moral nation in the world, therefore it is surprising that such an expression arose precisely in this state. But there is an explanation for this - scientists believe that this idiom arose among fans of Spanish TV series, whose heroes sometimes commit absurd things that are difficult to explain.

There is another, more common theory, which has religious overtones. If you follow it, it turns out that Spain itself has nothing to do with the term "Spanish shame". It is assumed that the concept originates from the word "ispa", which means "aspen" in translation from Hebrew. As the legends say, it was on this tree that the Apostle Judas hanged himself, and a cross was later made from aspen, on which, after his betrayal, Jesus Christ was crucified.

The plant was, of course, completely innocent of being used to do terrible things. However, the aspen was cursed by people for other people's atrocities. That is why the feeling of shame for the actions of strangers acquired the meaning of "aspen", which turned out to be consonant with "Spanish".

According to scientists, almost everyone faces the feeling of Spanish shame at different stages of life. A person, of course, catches himself thinking that these are absolutely unnecessary and unnecessary worries, but it is impossible to get rid of them.

Psychologists easily explain the appearance of such a phenomenon for several reasons. Let's list them.

1. A large number of restrictions and harsh moral prohibitions during childhood. The fact is that the human psyche is always programmed to understand what actions cannot be performed. And if some person does them anyway, then you should not participate in them or you need to try to stay as far from such an individual as possible.
2. Perfectionism (striving to be perfect, avoiding erroneous patterns). In fact, the feeling of awkwardness is a powerful emotional way of remembering, which insures a person from repeating ridiculous mistakes. Spanish shame helps a person learn from mistakes of others, not from theirs.
3. Empathy. This is an experience associated with the desire to help others, like yourself. The feeling of embarrassment for the mistakes of a stranger causes a desire to help him improve the current situation.
4. Fear of misunderstanding. In the old days, for every mistake it was possible to pay rather severely and become an outcast in society. That is why the human brain tends to constantly hone patterns of correct behavior. So there is a feeling of embarrassment for the mistakes of others.
5. Identification of oneself with one's own kind. This explanation is one of the simplest and most logical. Feeling that we are part of the team, we are equally worried about everyone we consider “ours”.

Since Spanish shame is considered normal, it can manifest itself to one degree or another in most people.... However, the strength of this discomfort is determined by the predisposition to empathy, and it is individual for each person. A person who is capable of empathy and compassion will be more susceptible to feeling uncomfortable with the behavior of others.

The level of discomfort is significantly influenced by a person's tendency to take everything to heart. A person who is indifferent to everything and everyone, who cares only about himself, will experience the mistakes of strangers less than others. Most likely, they will not touch him at all.

Research data carried out by German scientists have proven that a person experiencing feelings and feelings of Spanish shame, thereby trying to warn other people from shame, even if they are completely unfamiliar to him. But the one who, due to psychological characteristics, is not predisposed to such a feeling, observing an absurd situation, only scoffs, while experiencing inner satisfaction.

As part of the experiment, people were shown comedy films where the main characters faced trouble. Some viewers laughed violently, finding what had happened amusing, others began to sympathize with the experiences of the characters and look away from the screen at the moment when an unpleasant situation developed there.

It has been proven that the ability to empathize and closely perceive the mistakes of other people is quite strong, both on an emotional and physical level. It can be very difficult for a person to restrain his reaction; he tries to quickly break eye contact with the object of humiliation. For example, during an awkward scene while watching a movie, the viewer starts looking away.

And if something unpleasant happens on the street, then a person experiencing Spanish shame tries to quickly pass by or even intervene if the situation requires it. This reaction is explained by the tendency of people to subconsciously "try" on themselves everything that happened - that is why a person is ashamed of those misdeeds committed by others.Sometimes he can remember that he himself did something similar before, so this causes a strong emotional reaction in him.

Spanish shame is often experienced by people who believe that they have chosen the wrong spouse. Perfectionists-idealists often drive themselves into this dangerous trap, as well as pedants who are sensitive to every mistake of their half in front of others.

Obviously, Spanish shame is far from the most comfortable feeling. In many cases, people would like to overcome it, get rid of it. Especially overly susceptible and easily injured individuals suffer from it. Psychologists offer a number of effective recommendations that will help reduce discomfort many times over.

1. Work to improve your personal self-esteem. The more self-confidence you feel, the less excitement and meaningless emotions associated with the actions of other people, you will be able to move to the core. Try to take the time to read books and learn techniques for understanding your inner self.
2. Minimize the effect of the provoking factor. When the person who makes you feel awkward becomes overly irritating, it's best to take them out of your life completely. This often presupposes a final break in any relationship.
3. Realize all the meaninglessness and uselessness of such experiences. Whenever you show empathic emotions, ask yourself a simple question, the meaning of which is whether the act of a stranger has any impact on your future life. The answer is likely to be negative.