Dr. Danielle Forshee speaking with Pure Wow magazine about parenting schadenfreude.
“In these situations, empathy is at play creating the intuitive feeling of having something in common that relies on socially shared emotional experiences,” psychologist Dr. Danielle Forshee explains. “When you see a kid having a tantrum at the grocery store and you smile at the parent, empathy is being conveyed through non-verbal body language that you understand. One of the fundamental basic needs of all humans is to be understood,” she adds. In fact, per the expert, sharing an eye roll with the mom at the playground whose kid is refusing to let anyone touch his toy truck “can elicit trust, comfort, and deescalate feelings of distress.”
Please read the whole article on Purewow