Good Question: Why Do We Enjoy Seeing Others Make Mistakes?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It was a big mistake on live television that quickly spread like wildfire. After naming Miss Colombia this year's Miss Universe, pageant host Steve Harvey said he'd made a mistake.
In fact, it was Miss Philippines who had won the crown. Within minutes, Miss Universe was trending on social media and, by the following morning, Harvey took up several minutes of morning television news.
So, why do we like watching people make mistakes? Good Question.
"Part of it is a natural fascination with people who are rich and famous," Doug Hartmann, professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota, said.
He also credits the mystique of the Miss Universe pageant and the unscripted mistake on live television in an era of scripted TV as reasons why the video went so far and wide.
But, some of what it could come down to is a psychological phenomenon called schadenfreude, or the feeling of joy at someone else's emotions. It's been studied in children and co-workers and experts say it can be rooted in competition and envy.
Hartmann thinks the Harvey case entails more than jealousy.
"I think democracy kind of matters here because we all have a pretty deep belief that we are all the same," Hartmann said. "We take a little pride, satisfaction in that it kind of reminds us to remind them – you're not so great, you're not that much than the rest of us."
When asked on the street, some people felt more sorry for Miss Colombia."She missed her opportunity, her limelight, her time to have the big show," said one Minneapolis man.
But, others felt more for Steve Harvey, who took responsibility for the mistake right away.
"It's like a family member who messes up," Hartmann said. "You feel kind of sorry for them, but they did think they were pretty cool."