Contempt is a negative emotion. It is the seventh of Paul Ekman's seven universal emotions. It was a relatively late addition to Ekman's list, only added to the original six after further cross-cultural research, and some researchers still suggest that it is not a separate emotion.

Indeed, Robert Plutchik defined it in his Wheel of Emotions (and see our page on Understanding Emotions for more) as a combination of disgust and anger, although Ekman suggests that it is distinct from both these.

The basis of contempt is a feeling of superiority over something or someone, often for moral reasons. This page explains more about this emotion, why we feel it, and why it matters.

Defining Contempt

Paul Ekman defines contempt as an emotion in its own right. However, other researchers disagree. For example, Robert Plutchik defined it as a combination of anger and disgust.

Ekman suggests that contempt may be accompanied by anger, although more usually annoyance. However, he clearly separates it from the concept of anger itself. He also distinguishes it from disgust, saying that disgust can be felt towards things, but contempt is about people.

Robert Solomon, a philosopher and ethicist, suggested that contempt and resentment might both be forms of anger, related to class. He said you were only angry with someone of your own status. When you were angry with someone you felt was lower status than you, you felt contempt. If you were angry with someone of higher status than you, you felt resentment. This suggests, therefore, that contempt is very much about status, albeit coupled with anger.

Paul Ekman also believes that feeling contempt is basically about power and status.

We can see this in a classic British comedy sketch starring John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, the Class Sketch. In this sketch, which plays on the height of the three actors, Cleese states:

"I look down on him [Barker], because I am upper class."

Barker then comments,

"I look up to him [Cleese] because he is upper class but I look down on him [Corbett] [said with disdain] because he is lower class. I am middle class."

Corbett says simply,

"I know my place."

One of the interesting aspects of this sketch, at least to someone British, is that the tone of voice says far more than the words themselves. Corbett is simply accepting, his tone neutral. Cleese is bored: he is uninterested in those below him in social status, except when they can supply him with money. Barker's tone, however, simply 'drips with contempt' when he talks about Corbett.

Ekman adds that people who are uncertain about their status may show contempt as a way to establish their position. This may mean that people in lower positions show contempt for those above them in the hierarchy. In the Class Sketch, Corbett says at one point that he knows his place, but he is still hard-working and industrious, and might therefore look down on the other two if he felt like doing so—an example of this sort of 'upward contempt'. We can also see it in the reaction of prisoners to prison guards, and teenagers to those in authority.

Contempt is therefore a negative emotion.

However, the Class Sketch reminds us that the feeling of superiority may be enjoyable to some, especially those at the top of the perceived hierarchy. It is a way to assert power, so people do not necessarily want to move away from it, as they do from something that causes disgust. This might explain the existence of 'upward contempt'. Others, however, may feel ashamed that they feel superior, and try to suppress this feeling.

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Recognising Contempt

Paul Ekman states that contempt is the only emotion with a unilateral facial expression: that is, one that is only shown on one side of the face (see picture).

The picture clearly shows the curled lip that is the hallmark of contempt, and which is so beloved of historical romance writers anxious to establish their heroes as believing themselves superior (but clearly displaying their moral inferiority by doing so). These heroes often also 'look down their noses', usually at the heroine at the start of the book. Of course, they later come to see her value, and then feel ashamed of their earlier contempt.

When people feel contempt, they often sound smug or disapproving. Contempt may also be accompanied by eye-rolling, as the parents of teenagers will know.

The Problem with Contempt

Ekman suggests that contempt has only one function: to signal superiority and assert power or status.

It may therefore be seen as a reason not to engage with someone who is considered inferior.

Contempt is therefore in many ways a very simple emotion. However, it is also a problem, especially in close or intimate relationships. The sense of superiority that comes with contempt may feel quite pleasant and empowering at the time, but it is very damaging to relationships. One researcher even found that feeling contempt was the most reliable predictor of divorce.

It is therefore extremely important to pay attention when you start to feel contempt, especially if it is towards someone to whom you are close. Relationships are partnerships, and there should not be an imbalance of power—at least, not in everything.

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A Final Thought

Contempt may often feel pleasurable. After all, it makes us feel a bit more powerful, and we all like that.

However, it is always a negative emotion, with negative effects. It is good to be aware of it, and to ensure that you pay attention to the signals that it is sending you.

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