( CNN ) -- When other people suffer misfortunes , we feel sorry for them . Or do we ? More than we probably want to admit , we sometimes are secretly pleased . Does a Red Sox fan feel happy to see a Yankee fan miserable over a humiliating loss ? Would a Democrat ever tire of watching replays of Mitt Romney 's Etch A Sketch moments ? Do you find yourself consuming the tabloid news , riveted by coverage of disasters in the gossip columns ? The German language has a word for this feeling , schadenfreude , or , pleasure caused by the misfortunes of others . Most people feel uneasy taking pleasure in the misfortunes of others . Our parents gave us stern , shaming looks if we laughed when others got into trouble . Maybe this is one reason why there is no word for schadenfreude in some languages , such as English . Just because we do n't have a label for it in English does n't mean the feeling does n't exist . It 's very real , and you must have experienced it at some point in your life , or know someone who has . So , why do we feel schadenfreude ? One reason comes down to the simple fact that we often gain from other people 's misfortunes . Much of life involves competition . Napoleon advised , `` Never interrupt an enemy when he is making a mistake . '' Misfortunes happening to rivals can level the competition . Any sympathy we might feel is mixed with the pleasing effects of the benefit that may come our way . Self-interest is a powerful motive , and it is only natural to feel good if we are gaining from an event , even if it is from another person 's misfortune . A team of University of Kentucky researchers led by David Combs recently provided good evidence for this in the blood sport of politics . In a series of studies published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology , they screened participants for their party allegiance and then asked them to privately give their emotional reactions to news events , some of which were embarrassing to either the Democrat or Republican presidential candidates from the 2006 and 2008 elections . Overall , Democrats were much more pleased than Republicans when a Republican candidate suffered and Republicans were much more pleased than Democrats when a Democratic candidate suffered . These two groups seemed to live in separate parallel universes . Such findings come as no surprise to anyone who follows politics and who feels the effects of the election outcomes in the gut . Comedian Stephen Colbert captured the point during the summer of the most recent presidential campaign , when the economic indicators were looking bad for the incumbent , Obama , `` I 've got some good news and some bad news . The good news is there 's plenty of bad news , which is great news for Mitt Romney . '' The studies led by Combs used private reports , but were the participants being completely frank ? Did they even know their true feelings ? Social neuroscientists Mina Cikara , Matthew Botvinick , and Susan Fiske in a study published in Psychological Science provided more corroborating evidence for schadenfreude using sports fans rather than political junkies . They took advantage of the natural , storied rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees , and recruited diehard fans from each group . These fans watched simulated baseball plays while placed in a brain scanner . The plays involved their own team playing against their rival or playing against a neutral team . Pleasure-related brain activation was linked with the rival losing ; pain-related activation was linked with their own team losing . Notice that these examples come from intergroup competition . Often , our identity with a group affects our emotions . If our group comes out on top , that gives us a boost . In a classic demonstration , research led by Edward Hirt at Indiana University showed that Big Ten fans felt more optimistic about their own personal abilities ( from throwing darts to success in asking attractive people out for a date ) after their team won than after it lost . As a long-suffering Red Sox fan , I can attest to the elixir provided by `` our '' defeating the Yankees ' in the American League playoff in 2004 and then going on to win the World Series . There is something about intergroup dynamics that brings emotions like schadenfreude out into the open . The tribal , `` us '' vs. `` them '' mindset seems easily evoked , and it is thrilling to win at a rival group 's expense . Maybe , we feel less guilty and selfish in our pleasure when it 's `` for the team . '' Schadenfreude is a natural feeling , and there is little use in berating ourselves over its easy arousal . But let 's not encourage it , either . Apparently , those who experience schadenfreude may also express willingness to harm a rival fan or group . So let 's keep schadenfreude in check . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Richard H. Smith .
Richard Smith : When people suffer misfortunes , we feel sorry for them , or do we ? Smith : More than we probably want to admit , we sometimes are secretly pleased . He says in sports , politics , schadenfreude tend to be brought out into the open . Smith : Schadenfreude is a natural emotion , we should n't berate ourselves for feeling it .