Pride
Pride
/praɪd/
Pride is a self-conscious emotion linked to specific actions: people feel proud when they achieve something notable, such as winning a game or contributing to a worthy cause. It involves joy tied to personal or collective successes, motivating ethical behaviour in both politicians and citizens. Pride manifests in self-congratulatory expressions, both verbal and gestural, such as a puffed chest and confident posture. Group-based pride occurs when individuals attribute success to the efforts of their group, while vicarious pride arises when someone benefits from others’ achievements.
In politics, pride encourages status-seeking behaviour, reinforces actions to maintain status, and motivates perseverance in challenging tasks. It fosters social capitalisation, where sharing achievements brings additional social and political benefits beyond the initial success. Pride displays can enhance satisfaction, strengthen bonds between politicians and supporters, and boost a sense of belonging. Political leaders often use pride to create shared emotions within their electorates, emphasising collective achievements and using inclusive language to promote closeness.
On the other hand, expressions of group-based pride are frequent in nationalism and xenophobia (hatred of people considered foreign or strange), but research on both is scarce. For example, the current scientific understanding is still uncertain about the specific impact of pride on the development of ideology and vision-based political identity. Currently, MORES is researching the role of pride in forming political identities.
FURTHER READING:
Delvaux, E., Meeussen, L., & Mesquita, B. (2016). Emotions are not always contagious: Longitudinal spreading of self-pride and group pride in homogeneous and status-differentiated groups. Cognition and Emotion, 30(1), 101-116.
Hjerm, M. (1998). National identities, national pride and xenophobia: A comparison of four Western countries. Acta Sociologica, 41(4), 335-347.
Salmela, M., & von Scheve, C. (2018). Emotional dynamics of right-and left-wing political populism. Humanity & Society, 42(4), 434-454.
Sullivan, G. B. (2007). A critical psychology of pride. International Journal of Critical Psychology, 21, 166-189.
Sullivan, G. B. (Ed.). (2014). Understanding collective pride and group identity. Routledge.
Sullivan, G. B., & Day, C. (2019). Collective Emotions in Celebratory, Competitive, and Conflictual Contexts: Exploring the Dynamic Relations between Group-Based and Collective Pride and Shame. Emotions: History, Culture, Society, 3(2), 202-222. https://doi.org/10.1163/2208522X-02010057