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Hate is a powerful and complex feeling. Interestingly, there is no clear consensus among scholars about its exact nature. Some describe hate as an emotion, others see it as an attitude or sentiment, and still others regard it as a blend of anger, contempt, and disgust. While some researchers think hate is simply an extreme form of anger or dislike, many believe it to be a distinct and unique experience altogether.
But why do we experience it? To find out, Bored Panda reached out to Clara Pretus, a psychology professor and researcher in social neurosciences, and the director of the Social Brain Lab.
“We hate things that we perceive as posing an existential threat to us,” Pretus explains. “This could be a physical threat—something that puts our life at risk—or a symbolic threat, something that endangers our values and way of life.”
She goes on to say, “Our response to hate is to either avoid or eliminate the object of our hate because we don't believe it will ever stop being a threat. This is different from anger; when we’re angry at someone, we’re still giving them a second chance, believing they can change. With hate, the sense of danger is so strong that it activates our fight or flight response, preparing us to either attack or defend ourselves.”
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People who do drink but have decided they don't feel like drinking that night. Their reasoning being they simply don't want to.
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This defense mechanism is evident in the brain. A neuroimaging study by Professor Semir Zeki and John Romaya of the Wellcome Laboratory of Neurobiology at UCL showed that looking at the faces of people we hate activates areas of the premotor cortex, which prepares us for action. It also activates the insula, a brain region linked to internal bodily states, including disgust. “This area also activates in response to romantic love, which may explain why people say there’s a thin line between love and hate,” says Pretus.
Zeki adds, “The putamen, another brain area, could also be involved in preparing for aggressive acts, even in a romantic context, like when a rival poses a threat. Previous studies suggest the insula is engaged by distressing stimuli, and seeing both a loved and a hated face might trigger such a response.”
He further explains, “One marked difference between love and hate is that, while love deactivates large parts of the cerebral cortex associated with judgment and reasoning, hate only deactivates a small area in the frontal cortex. This might seem surprising since hate can also be an all-consuming passion, like love. But in romantic love, the lover is often less critical, while in hate, the hater may become more judgmental, calculating moves to harm or seek revenge.”
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Pretus’s work focuses on how political extremism impacts decision-making, particularly in polarized environments. She studies how extreme social identities and moral values influence political beliefs, the spread of misinformation, and the willingness to engage in political violence.
Another aspect of her research explores the rise of hate crimes. While we understand some factors behind these crimes, what people perceive and experience as “hate” at a psychological level is still a gray area.
In one of her studies, Pretus explored the role of morality in hate. Her team analyzed the language used on prominent hate websites and complaint forums, finding that hate sites contained more words related to morality, not just negativity, compared to the complaint forums.
“Morality guides our decisions and actions because it defines what we believe is right and wrong,” Pretus says. “Our moral values, like honesty, justice, and respecting traditions, are a big part of who we are. When someone acts in a way that threatens those values, it can spark hate because it feels like an existential threat to our identity. Hate then prepares us to either eliminate or escape from the source of that threat.”
It’s clear that hate is a deeply personal feeling, shaped by our experiences and values. But we couldn’t resist asking Pretus if there’s one thing people often hate that she thinks deserves more love.
“I would say Mondays,” she shares. “I’ve never hated Mondays, but maybe that’s because I really like my job.”
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Please stop generalising that all boomers are wealthy. Yeah, some are and I’m as jealous as the next person, with my pathetic pension. I’ve worked all my life, but did not have the means to have a huge pension pot. I did have a house, but was forced out by an abusive ex husband. I’m single but still have to pay full bills and the rent is almost half my income. This year, it’s eating or heating. I’m not moaning- just stating facts and I’m certainly not alone in this situation. It’s hard being poor, but even harder reading the hatred ….
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Women have emotions. Men do too. It’s indisputable that all humans have emotions. High emotional availability is something that should absolutely not be seen as exclusive to any specific gender, age or race. It’s a universal human condition. It’s nothing to be ashamed of and NO ONE should be belittled or bullied for having or displaying completely valid and sincere emotions nor for possessing the ability to communicate them.
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They're actually pretty cute and fun to watch if you don't harass them.
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The stuff that's catered towards them isn't dumbed down or soulless or basic or mind numbing. It's just catered towards a young demographic, which you are not. You aren't the target audience, that's why you don't get it. You're not meant to as it's not for you.
Millennials got the same hate, as did Gen X and Boomers and so on. And they all grew up, eventually Gen Z will and then everyone will hate on Gen Alpha for [damaging] whatever industries and being entitled and not knowing what real work is and whatever buzzwords people always use to hate on the latest generation of youths.
Also while I'm at it, people "glued to their phones" there's this weird assumption that if I or any other person under 40 is on their phone they're just rotting their brain or d**king around or are on social media. First of all everyone looks at their phones not just Gen Z and Millennials. Second of all a phone these days is an everything in one device. It's a calender, it gives you the time, it gives you news, it allows you to send important emails, read books, look at timetables, write notes. Someone "glued to their phone" could be doing any of that kind of stuff.
If you didn't give people in the past s**t for constantly reading books, reading a newspaper, writing their schedule for the day. looking at their watch and so on, why are you giving people, particularly young people, s**t now for it? Because the platform they do that stuff has changed? Everyone still does that stuff. The only thing that's changed is the platform: It's all now on a phone. Think about that the next time you're on a bus or subway and see everyone "glued to their phones".
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