- Contempt
- An emotion characterised by a sense of moral or social superiority toward a person or group perceived as inferior, immoral, or unworthy. Involves downward evaluation of the target as a person (not merely their behaviour) and tends to reduce motivation for engagement or correction. One of the CAD triad moral emotions.
- Unilateral superiority
- The appraisal structure distinctive of contempt, identified by Rozin, Haidt & McCauley: the person experiencing contempt feels superior to the target in a domain relevant to the community's social hierarchy or moral code. Unlike anger (which implies the target is a rough equal who has transgressed) or disgust (which implies the target is offensive), contempt implies the target is simply below the standard of the moral community.
- CAD triad
- Rozin, Haidt & McCauley's model proposing that contempt, anger, and disgust are linked to violations of three moral codes: Contempt → violations of Community (hierarchy, role obligations, loyalty); Anger → violations of Autonomy (rights, fairness, harm); Disgust → violations of Divinity (purity, sanctity, the sacred). Each emotion signals a different type of moral transgression.
- Four Horsemen (Gottman)
- Gottman's four communication patterns that predict relationship failure: criticism (attacking the partner's character), contempt (mocking, eye-rolling, sneering, name-calling), defensiveness (self-protection that escalates conflict), and stonewalling (emotional withdrawal). Contempt is identified as the most damaging, predicting both relationship dissolution and worse partner health outcomes.
- Moral contempt
- Contempt directed at someone perceived to have violated fundamental moral standards — not merely to have made a mistake, but to be the kind of person who lacks the basic moral qualities the community expects. Moral contempt motivates social exclusion rather than correction, since the target is seen as beyond repair or engagement.