catalogue
What is the sour grape effect?
2 The story of sour grape effect
3 "sour grape effect" and spiritual victory method
4 sour grape effect and modern life
5 related projects
What is the sour grape effect
The sour grape effect, also known as sour grape psychology, refers to what we try hard to do but can't get, and is said to be "sour" and not good. This method can relieve some of our stress. For example: others have a good thing, I don't have it, I really want it, but in fact I can't get it. At this time, we might as well use the "sour grapes" mentality to try to find something bad in our hearts and say "bad words" about it to overcome our unreasonable needs.
Sour grape effect story
In Aesop's fable, there is a story of "the fox and the grapes". It is said that foxes are eager for ripe grapes. It jumped up, but it was not high enough. It jumped up again ... it wanted to eat grapes, but it didn't jump high enough. This is also a kind of "frustration" or "psychological pressure". What should the fox do at this time? If you keep jumping, you will be exhausted and still can't jump to the height of the grapes. So the fox said, "Anyway, this grape is sour." The implication is that grapes can't be eaten anyway, even if they jump high enough, they are still "inedible", and the fox will "feel at ease" and walk away to find something delicious.
Aesop's original intention in writing this fable is to satirize some people who are good at making excuses in order to achieve psychological balance.
But different people have different opinions. Some people think this fox is particularly clever. "The grapes that can't be eaten are sour." Although there is suspicion of making excuses, it balances its own psychology and plays a role in self-protection. Don't people also have this kind of psychology? For example, if you break a beautiful vase, you might as well say "it is safe to break it"; When your home is stolen by a thief, you might as well say "wealth is safe for people" or "breaking the money to eliminate disasters" Isn't this kind of self-consolation much better than vomiting blood and raising blood pressure? So there is a proposal of "sour grape psychology" in psychology, but Aesop's old man didn't expect it anyway. "Uneaten grapes are sour" has both negative and positive aspects. Aesop only saw the former, but not the latter.
Someone did an experiment, tying up a dog and putting a delicious piece of beef two feet away. The dog wants to eat it, but it can't reach it. He was furious, his heart beat faster and his blood pressure rose. At this point, let another dog come and eat this piece of beef calmly. The tied dog's blood pressure rose even higher because of anger and jealousy, and almost lost his life. In another experiment, the baboon king was covered by an iron cage. Baboon kings enjoy many privileges. All female baboons are their wives, and all delicious food should be eaten first. Now the king of baboons is covered, and the delicious food outside the cage is enjoyed by baboons. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He gnashed his teeth and hit his head against the iron cage. This experiment was done once a day, and a year later, the baboon king died of cancer because of emotional excitement.
If dogs and baboons can understand that "grapes that cannot be eaten are sour" and comfort themselves to achieve psychological balance, the outcome will be another situation. This shows that the fox in Aesop's fable is so clever and lovely!
When the fox in the fable encounters "frustration" or "psychological pressure", he will take the negative method of "distorting the facts" to achieve his "psychological balance". Undeniably, they do have practical significance and function, especially when people think they are unable to cope with the pressure they face, so as not to go to extremes. Everything has positive and negative meanings. As long as it plays the role of suspending psychological pressure and balancing psychology, it has its practical significance, that is, "rationalizing" the sour grape effect. Of course, we can't stay here forever. We should take active measures to solve this problem.
"sour grape effect" and spiritual victory method
Since Lu Xun published The True Story of Ah Q, a new term-spiritual victory method has appeared in China's psychological circle. In the lectures I have heard about Lu Xun and The True Story of Ah Q, almost all of them mentioned the "spiritual victory method", and most of them were interpreted in a derogatory sense. Researcher Chen Shuyu, former deputy director of Lu Xun Museum, once said that one of Lu Xun's aims in shaping the image of Ah Q is to criticize the bad habits of China people who "make a fool of themselves"-to show off themselves at the expense of making a fool of themselves. In the modern era of reform and opening up, I can "criticize Ah Q" from another angle, so I endowed it with new significance from the "spiritual victory law" and turned it into a "sour grape effect". Later, I consulted Professor Chen Shuyu face to face, and he said it was not bad to change it to "take a step back and broaden the horizon", but that was by no means Mr. Lu Xun's original intention.
Sour grape effect and modern life
This sour grape effect is very common in today's life. As a student, I found that many people in the school are also like this. For example, if a classmate gets a high score in the exam or has a beautiful girlfriend, but you can't, you will have this sour grape effect. Maybe you call it jealousy, but I feel there is jealousy in it! I still don't think it is necessary to have this mentality, because God is fair to everyone. If you have something, you will lose it. You can't have it both ways! Everyone has his advantages and disadvantages. You don't have to compare the advantages of others with your own shortcomings. Sometimes it's ok to use your own advantages against others' shortcomings. This is not a contempt for others, but an affirmation of yourself. Give yourself a reason not to envy others easily! "I was born useful" is gold that shines forever. Don't compare others blindly. What's the point of comparing others? Remember that you are you, others are others, and you will never become others!