So why do people cringe? That’s what we’re talking about

So why do people cringe?

 So why do people cringe? That’s what we’re talking about. Embarrassment is an emotion that makes us feel bad when we publicly violate a social norm - like when Triangle Bob trips down the stairs or burps loudly, or trips down the stairs while burping loudly. It happens a lot. Cringing is a sort of vicarious embarrassment that happens when we see someone else make one of these mistakes - even if we don’t know the other person or if they don’t realize they are doing it. Triangle Bob: We can also get this feeling when we’re faced with a reality about ourselves that we were unaware of, I’ve changed okay!? I’ve changed! Circlia: Melissa Dahl, the author of Cringeworthy: A Theory of Awkwardness refers to this as “cringe-theory,” which is the idea that we are embarrassed when the version of ourselves we think we are presenting to the world clashes with how the world actually sees us. But why do we cringe when someone else does something embarrassing? In the ’80s, before the term “cringe” came about, one researcher referred to this feeling as “empathetic embarrassment.” He theorized that because our culture is so concerned with proper social conduct, simply envisioning ourselves in place of someone else doing something embarrassing makes us feel embarrassed. And we wouldn’t be able to feel this way if we didn’t have this important social trait called empathy., Empathy is essential in our social world because it allows us to know what someone else may be feeling or thinking so that we can treat others compassionately., This means that the more empathetic you are, the more you will cringe., But, now you can say you cringe because you care! In a 2011 study, researchers measured brain activity while showing test subjects a sketch and description of an embarrassing scenario. They found that the same regions associated with empathy - the anterior cingulate cortex  and the left anterior insula - were activated during these times. Scientists call this area the “pain matrix” since it has been linked to our compassionate perception, or empathy, for both physical and social pain. While this study looked only at how strangers make us cringe, a more recent study published in 2015 by the same group looked at how our brains react when our friends make us cringe. Circlia: As you may expect, they found activity in the pain matrix increased when seeing friends embarrass themselves compared to strangers. But they also found more activity in a region associated with self-related thoughts called the precuneus, suggesting that we share our friends’ embarrassment or are concerned about our own social image. Triangle Bob: So, while cringing isn’t fun, it means that we have the ability to relate and care strongly about others, which isn't all that bad if you ask me. I make a lot of mistakes. The animator kinda messes with me. It’s my thing, but i see a lot of comments that feel bad for me. Kinda neat that everyone like- Triangle Bob: Oh come on not again! So do you actually like reading cringey articles? Or do you hate seeing people get embarrassed? If you have a cringey story, and you’re comfortable with sharing, share it down below in the comments! I’ll be responding to some!