Emotion In psychological terms, positive pride is a "pleasant, sometimes exhilarating, emotion that results from a positive
self-evaluation". It was added to the
University of California, Davis, "Set of Emotion Expressions", as one of three "self-conscious" emotions known to have recognizable
expressions (along with
embarrassment and
shame). The term "" was coined by Italian psychologist Isabella Poggi to describe the pride experienced and expressed in the moments following a personal triumph over adversity. Facial expressions and gestures that demonstrate pride can involve a lifting of the chin, smiles, or arms on hips to demonstrate victory or achievement. Individuals may implicitly grant status to others based solely on their expressions of pride, even in cases in which they wish to avoid doing so. Indeed, some studies indicate that the nonverbal expression of pride conveys a message that is automatically perceived by others about a person's high social status in a group. Behaviorally, pride can also be expressed by adopting an expanded posture in which the head is tilted back and the arms extended out from the body. This postural display is innate, as it is shown in
congenitally blind individuals who have lacked the opportunity to see it in others.
Authentic and Hubristic pride Contemporary psychological research distinguishes between two facets of pride: authentic pride and
hubristic pride. Authentic pride is associated with feelings of accomplishment, confidence, and productive effort, and is positively correlated with
self-esteem and
prosocial behavior. Hubristic pride, by contrast, is associated with arrogance and inflated self-views, and has been linked to
narcissism and interpersonal difficulties. Subsequent research has examined the evolutionary and social functions of pride, suggesting that pride may function as a status-regulating
emotion that signals competence and social value within groups.
Positive outcomes Pride results from self-directed satisfaction with meeting personal goals; for example, positive performance outcomes elicit pride in a person when the event is appraised as having been caused by that person alone. Pride functions as a display of the strong self that promotes feelings of similarity to strong peers, as well as differentiation from weak others. Seen in this light, pride can be conceptualized as a hierarchy-enhancing emotion, as its experience and display helps rid negotiations of conflict. Pride involves exhilarated
pleasure and a feeling of accomplishment. It is related to "more positive behaviors and outcomes in the area where the individual is proud". Pride is associated with positive social behaviors such as helping others and public expression of achievement. Along with hope, it is an emotion that facilitates
goal attainment, as it can help trigger and sustain focused efforts, helping individuals prepare for upcoming evaluative events. It may also help enhance the quality and flexibility of the effort expended. Pride can enhance creativity, productivity, and
altruism. One study from the University of Michigan found that among African-American youth, pride is associated with a higher
GPA in less socioeconomically advantaged neighborhoods, whereas in more advantaged neighborhoods, pride is associated with a lower GPA.
Economics In the field of
economic psychology, pride is conceptualized on a spectrum ranging from "proper pride", associated with genuine achievements, and "false pride", which can be
maladaptive or even
pathological. S.E.G. Lea and P. Webly, the researchers of the journal 'Pride in economic psychology', examined the role of pride in various economic situations. They claimed that pride is involved in all economic decisions because those decisions are linked to the self of the person who makes them. Understood in this way, pride is an emotional state that works to ensure that people take financial decisions that are in their long-term interests, even when in the short term they would appear irrational.
Sin and self-acceptance Inordinate self-esteem is called "pride". Classical Christian theology viewed pride as a consequence of high self-esteem, and therefore considered high self-esteem itself to be the root of the primary human problem. However, beginning in the 20th century, "
humanistic psychology" diagnosed the primary human problem as low self-esteem stemming from a lack of belief in one's "true worth".
Carl Rogers observed that most people "regard themselves as worthless and unlovable". Thus, they lack self-esteem. In the
King James Bible, people exhibiting excess pride are labeled with the term
"haughty". In his book
Mere Christianity,
C.S. Lewis calls pride "the great sin", arguing that "it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began." Terry Cooper describes excessive pride (along with low self-esteem) as an important framework in which to describe the human condition. He examines and compares the
Augustinian-
Niebuhrian conviction that pride is primary, the feminist concept of pride as being absent in the experience of women, the
humanistic psychology position that pride does not adequately account for anyone's experience, and the humanistic psychology idea that if pride emerges, it is always a false front designed to protect an undervalued self. He considers the work of certain
Neo-Freudian psychoanalysts, namely
Karen Horney, and offers promise in addressing what he describes as a "deadlock between the overvalued and undervalued self". Cooper refers to their work in describing the connection between religious and psychological pride as well as sin to describe how a neurotic pride system underlies an appearance of self-contempt and low self-esteem: The "idealized self", the "tyranny of the should", the "pride system", and the nature of self-hate all point toward the intertwined relationship between neurotic pride and self-contempt. This framework helps in understanding how a neurotic pride system underlies an appearance of self-contempt and low self-esteem. Thus,
hubris, which is an exaggerated form of self-esteem, is sometimes actually a lie used to cover the lack of self-esteem the hubristic person feels deep down.
Hubris and group narcissism Hubris is associated with more intra-individual negative outcomes and is often associated with expressions of aggression and hostility. Hubris is not necessarily associated with high
self-esteem but with highly fluctuating or variable self-esteem. Excessive hubris tends to create conflict and sometimes leads to the termination of close relationships, which has led it to be understood as one of the few emotions with no clear positive or adaptive functions. A group that boasts, gloats, or denigrates others tends to become a group with low social status or to be vulnerable to threats from other groups.
UC Davis associate professor of psychology Cynthia Pickett, who has researched collective pride, has said that "hubristic, pompous displays of group pride might actually be a sign of group insecurity as opposed to a sign of strength". Pickett found that those who express pride by being filled with
humility while focusing on members' efforts and hard work tend to achieve high social standing. Hubristic pride occurs when we experience pride in the absence of an eliciting event or even for eliciting events that we did not achieve. Research from the
University of Sydney found that hubristic pride is correlated with arrogance and self-aggrandizement and promotes
prejudice and discrimination. However, authentic pride is associated with self-confidence and accomplishment and promotes more positive attitudes toward out-groups and stigmatized individuals. == Ethnic ==