Shame Vs Shame Essay

6 Shame vs Guilt-Proneness

Research found that there are different dispositional tendencies to experience either guilt or shame more frequently. Tangney (1990) defined this proneness as “the propensity to experience that emotion across a range of situations“. Thus a shame - prone individual would be more likely to experience both consequential as well as anticipatory shame than a non shame - prone individual. Both emotions are considered negative, yet between shame and guilt, shame is considered to be the more painful emotion (Tangney, Stuewig et al. 2007). In accordance with the previous definition, shamed individuals negatively evaluate their entire being, which is accompanied by a feeling of shrinking, inferiority and degradation (Eisenberg

7 Effects on Behavior

Shame and guilt are not considered to be equally „moral“ emotions. While guilt seems to be more adaptive and beneficial for all parties involved, shame can lead to further complications (Tangney, Stuewig et al. 2007). Thus, shame and guilt result in different (moral) behaviors. The following paragraphs will contrast different consequential behaviors following the experience or anticipation of either shame or guilt, identified by Tangney, Stuewig et at (2007).


7.1 Hiding versus Amending

Shame and guilt result in different motivational interactions with others. While shamed individuals are more likely to crave an escaping from the specific situation, guilt causes a motivation for amendment, including confessions and apologies. Shame also goes hand in hand with interpersonal distance and separation, whereas guilt leads to proactive, constructive behavior (see Tangney, Stuewig et al.

2007) examined shame and guilt in drunk drivers, after they had appeared in court. He found no difference in behavioral consequences concerning the experience of shame and guilt. However, he studied a homogenous group of people (drunk drivers, a lot of whom had a substance abuse problem) and only one type of transgression. This raises the compelling idea that the lines between shame and guilt blur with a substance abuse problem (see Tangney, Stuewig et al. 2007). Also, most of these cases resulted in an arrest because of erratic driving and not because someone was hurt. As a result, the empathic response usually associated with guilt may not have been salient for the