Hey there! Welcome to Life Noggin! You know that inward shiver you get when you
witness something embarrassing? It happens on youtube a lot. Circlia: It especially happens when you make
a bad pun on Life Noggin! Blocko: Okay! Haha very good! Triangle Bob: and when you talk to Circlia. Blocko: alright, well we should get to the- Triangle Bob: or when you talk with anyone
else really. Blocko: ALRIGHT! So why do people cringe? That’s what we’re talking about. Blocko:
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, like when you hear your voice in a recording
or watch yourself in old videos. Blocko: ugh! 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., Triangle Bob: 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! Blocko: 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! Blocko:
So do you actually like watching cringey videos? 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! Curious to know the dengerous effects of bullying,
well then you should check out this video i did with triangle bob. They often experience neglect or are themselves
being bullied by parents or siblings. Due to feeling shame from their own experiences,
they might develop defense mechanisms like aggression. Targets of bullying often do worse in school
and are more likely to skip or drop out. As always, my name is Blocko,
This has been life noggin, don’t forget to keep on thinking!
