How to recognize contempt?

Question

What are the obvious signs of contempt/hatred in human relations and what is the cause for these behaviors? In other words, are there physical and behavioral traces/signs of contempt and hatred? Can a person be kind and friendly with you, but in reality he/she feels a great amount of contempt and hatred towards you?

Answer 1

Hello, I learned most about contempt in a course I took on nonverbal communication. Contempt is one of the universal facial expressions, summarized in the SCADFISH acronym: Sadness, contempt, anger, disgust, fearful, intrigue, surprise, and happiness. Contempt is defined as the feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn. As you can see, contempt is not quite linked to hatred, but it is definitely not a kind emotion. This can be identified easily in a facial expression (think of Angela from the Office); I would look up pictures of contempt to more easily recognize this identifier.The cause will be determined on an individual basis, but according to the definition someone would likely hold contempt for you if they thought they were better than you in some way; that you were not even worth their time. As for the last section of the question, it is hard to determine without knowing the individual. As much as we would like to be mind readers, the only way to know is to have open communication and ask the person directly.