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The Psychology of Hate - Psychology Today

The document discusses the psychology of hate. It begins by describing an incident where members of a hate group terrorized guests at a child's birthday party using racial slurs and death threats. It then notes that a recent study found at least 917 organized hate groups in the US, with their social media presence growing significantly. Several factors that may contribute to hate are then outlined, including the fear of those different from oneself, projecting unwanted parts of oneself onto others, a lack of self-compassion, filling a void in one's identity, and societal/cultural influences. The document concludes by stating that compassion and connecting with others are needed to overcome hate.

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artemis Specter
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131 views4 pages

The Psychology of Hate - Psychology Today

The document discusses the psychology of hate. It begins by describing an incident where members of a hate group terrorized guests at a child's birthday party using racial slurs and death threats. It then notes that a recent study found at least 917 organized hate groups in the US, with their social media presence growing significantly. Several factors that may contribute to hate are then outlined, including the fear of those different from oneself, projecting unwanted parts of oneself onto others, a lack of self-compassion, filling a void in one's identity, and societal/cultural influences. The document concludes by stating that compassion and connecting with others are needed to overcome hate.

Uploaded by

artemis Specter
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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5/9/2017 The Psychology of Hate | Psychology Today

The Psychology of Hate

Recently, several members of a group calling itself “Respect the Flag” were sentenced to prison for
terrorizing guests at the birthday party of an 8yearold AfricanAmerican girl in Georgia. Pointing a
shotgun, they yelled racial slurs and death threats at guests, including children.

It wasn’t an isolated incident. According to a recent study


, there are at least 917 organized hate groups in the United States. The study, based on data collected
by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and presented in their annual census of hate groups,
looked at the presence of hate groups on Twitter. SPLC found that the number of likes and comments
on hate group accounts grew by 900 percent in the last two years.
Why do we hate? The reasons are complex, but following are some of the factors that may play a role in
helping us understand hate and, hopefully, work toward change.

Fear of “The Other”

According to A.J. Marsden, assistant professor of psychology and human services at Beacon College in
Leesburg, Florida, one reason we hate is because we fear things that are different from us `.
Behavioral researcher Patrick Wanis, cites the ingroup outgroup theory which posits that when we feel
threatened by perceived outsiders, we instinctively turn toward our ingroup—those with whom we
identify—as a survival mechanism. Wanis explains,gh “Hatred is driven by two key emotions of love and
aggression: One love for the ingroup—the group that is favored; and two, aggression for the outgroup—
the group that has been deemed as being different, dangerous, and a threat to the ingroup.”

Fear of Ourselves

According to Washington, D.C., clinical psychologist Dana Harron, the things people hate about others
are the things that they fear within themselves. She suggests thinking about the targeted group or
person as a movie screen onto which we project unwanted parts of the self. The idea is, “I'm not terrible;
you are.”

This phenomenon is known as projection, a term coined by Freud to describe our tendency to reject
what we don’t like about ourselves. Psychologist Brad Reedy further describes projection as our need to
be good, which causes us to project "badness" outward and attack it:
"We developed this method to survive, for any 'badness' in us put us at risk for being rejected and
alone. So we repressed the things that we thought were bad (what others told us or suggested to us that
was unlovable and morally reprehensible) — and we employ hate and judgment towards others. We

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5/9/2017 The Psychology of Hate | Psychology Today

think that is how one rids oneself of undesirable traits, but this method only perpetuates repression
which leads to many mental health issues.

Lack of Selfcompassion

The antidote to hate is compassion — for others as well as ourselves. Selfcompassion means that we
accept the whole self. “If we find part of ourselves unacceptable, we tend to attack others in order to
defend against the threat,” says Reedy. “If we are okay with ourselves, we see others’ behaviors as
‘about them’ and can respond with compassion. If I kept hate in my heart for [another], I would have to
hate myself as well. It is only when we learn to hold ourselves with compassion that we may be able to
demonstrate it toward others.”

It fills a void

Psychologist Bernard Golden, author of Overcoming Destructive Anger: Strategies That Work, believes
that when hate involves participation in a group, it may help foster a sense of connection and
camaraderie that fills a void in one’s identity. He describes hatred of individuals or groups as a way of
distracting oneself from the more challenging and anxietyprovoking task of creating one’s own identity:

"Acts of hate are attempts to distract oneself from feelings such as helplessness, powerlessness,
injustice, inadequacy and shame. Hate is grounded in some sense of perceived threat. It is an attitude
that can give rise to hostility and aggression toward individuals or groups. Like much of anger, it is a
reaction to and distraction from some form of inner pain. The individual consumed by hate may believe
that the only way to regain some sense of power over his or her pain is to preemptively strike out at
others. In this context, each moment of hate is a temporary reprieve from inner suffering."

Societal and Cultural Factors

The answer to why we hate, according to Silvia Dutchevici, LCSW, president and founder of the
Critical Therapy Center, lies not only in our psychological makeup or family history, but also in our
cultural and political history. “We live in a war culture that promotes violence, in which competition is a
way of life,” she says. “We fear connecting because it requires us to reveal which leaves little room for
vulnerability and an exploration of hate through empathic discourse and understanding. In our current
society, one is more ready to fight than to resolve conflict. Peace is seldom the option.”

What Can We Do?

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5/9/2017 The Psychology of Hate | Psychology Today

Hatred has to be learned, Golden says: “We are all born with the capacity for aggression as well as
compassion. Which tendencies we embrace requires mindful choice by individuals, families,
communities and our culture in general. The key to overcoming hate is education: at home, in schools,
and in the community.”
According to Dutchevici, facing the fear of being vulnerable and utterly human is what allows us to
connect, to feel, and ultimately, to love. She suggests creating “cracks in the system.” These cracks can
be as simple as connecting to your neighbor, talking with a friend, starting a protest, or even going to
therapy and connecting with an ‘Other.’ It is through these acts that one can understand hate and love.”
In other words, compassion towards others is the true context that heals.

The SPLC encourages anyone who witnesses a hate crime — including hateful harassment or intimidation — to first report the
incident to local authorities, then go to SPLC’s #ReportHate intake page to continue the effort to track hate in the country

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Allison Abrams, LCSWR, is a licensed psychotherapist in NYC, as well as a writer and advocate
for mental health awareness and destigmatization.

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