MANIFESTATIONS OF INSULT AND COMPETITIVE VICTIMHOOD IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERGROUP CONFLICTS

Abstract

The article addresses the issue of manifestations of insult among members of various social groups who, in conflict interactions, use tools of competitive victimhood to justify their own destructive actions. It’s noted that insult acts as an emotional reaction of individuals, a negative emotional mix towards others who allegedly affect their self-esteem, status, or role. Insult always accompanies a subjective understanding of fairness, which triggers certain behavioral manifestations or strategies of behavior in the offended individuals in conflict situations. It has been found that insult arises with varying degrees of intensity when individuals are wronged, deceived, subjected to unfair accusations, or when others’ actions do not meet their expectations. This leads to the emergence of not only a set of negative emotional reactions that embody insult but also the production of a phenomenon known as competitive victimhood. It’s determined that competitive victimhood arises from the conflict subjects’ perception of themselves as victims of the confrontation, with the losses they incur due to its escalation being articulated as unique and incomparable to the losses of their opponents. Competitive victimhood describes the efforts of conflict subjects to justify their own harsh actions or behaviors, as they believe they have been more insulted and suffer more in the conflict than the opposing side. It’s noted that insult amplifies the intensity of competitive victimhood manifestations in conflict interactions, significantly hindering its resolution, and in some cases, may escalate the conflict between them, making reconciliation and forgiveness impossible.