30 Things That Aren’t Bad Or Wrong At All But Get So Much Hate

Hate is a powerful and complex feeling. Interestingly, there is no clear consensus among scholars about its exact nature. Some describe hate as an emotion, others see it as an attitude or sentiment, and still others regard it as a blend of anger, contempt, and disgust. While some researchers think hate is simply an extreme form of anger or dislike, many believe it to be a distinct and unique experience altogether.

But why do we experience it? To find out, Bored Panda reached out to Clara Pretus, a psychology professor and researcher in social neurosciences, and the director of the Social Brain Lab.

“We hate things that we perceive as posing an existential threat to us,” Pretus explains. “This could be a physical threat—something that puts our life at risk—or a symbolic threat, something that endangers our values and way of life.”

She goes on to say, “Our response to hate is to either avoid or eliminate the object of our hate because we don't believe it will ever stop being a threat. This is different from anger; when we’re angry at someone, we’re still giving them a second chance, believing they can change. With hate, the sense of danger is so strong that it activates our fight or flight response, preparing us to either attack or defend ourselves.”

This defense mechanism is evident in the brain. A neuroimaging study by Professor Semir Zeki and John Romaya of the Wellcome Laboratory of Neurobiology at UCL showed that looking at the faces of people we hate activates areas of the premotor cortex, which prepares us for action. It also activates the insula, a brain region linked to internal bodily states, including disgust. “This area also activates in response to romantic love, which may explain why people say there’s a thin line between love and hate,” says Pretus.

Zeki adds, “The putamen, another brain area, could also be involved in preparing for aggressive acts, even in a romantic context, like when a rival poses a threat. Previous studies suggest the insula is engaged by distressing stimuli, and seeing both a loved and a hated face might trigger such a response.”

He further explains, “One marked difference between love and hate is that, while love deactivates large parts of the cerebral cortex associated with judgment and reasoning, hate only deactivates a small area in the frontal cortex. This might seem surprising since hate can also be an all-consuming passion, like love. But in romantic love, the lover is often less critical, while in hate, the hater may become more judgmental, calculating moves to harm or seek revenge.”

Pretus’s work focuses on how political extremism impacts decision-making, particularly in polarized environments. She studies how extreme social identities and moral values influence political beliefs, the spread of misinformation, and the willingness to engage in political violence.

Another aspect of her research explores the rise of hate crimes. While we understand some factors behind these crimes, what people perceive and experience as “hate” at a psychological level is still a gray area.

In one of her studies, Pretus explored the role of morality in hate. Her team analyzed the language used on prominent hate websites and complaint forums, finding that hate sites contained more words related to morality, not just negativity, compared to the complaint forums.

“Morality guides our decisions and actions because it defines what we believe is right and wrong,” Pretus says. “Our moral values, like honesty, justice, and respecting traditions, are a big part of who we are. When someone acts in a way that threatens those values, it can spark hate because it feels like an existential threat to our identity. Hate then prepares us to either eliminate or escape from the source of that threat.”

It’s clear that hate is a deeply personal feeling, shaped by our experiences and values. But we couldn’t resist asking Pretus if there’s one thing people often hate that she thinks deserves more love.

“I would say Mondays,” she shares. “I’ve never hated Mondays, but maybe that’s because I really like my job.”