Abstract
The topics of guilt, shame, and embarrassment evoke wide recognition and are everyday experiences. Theorists have suggested adaptive roles for guilt (e.g., Hoffman, 1976; Wright, 1971), shame (e.g., Lewis, 1986), and embarrassment (e.g., Edelmann, 1987). These emotions may encourage self-regulation and socially desirable behavior and also inhibit undesirable conduct. On the other hand, clinical observers have implicated high levels of guilt, shame, and embarrassment in a variety of psychological difficulties. These emotions have bearing on social anxiety in that they have aversive motivational properties and often inhibit social behavior. Moreover, one presumed source of guilt, shame, and embarrassment is interpersonal learning experiences in which violations of norms and standards were met with punishment, especially social rejection and disapproval. (Presumably, even if the potential for these emotions is innate, the particular eliciting stimuli within any culture or subculture are acquired in socialization about violations of specific norms and standards.) In addition, there are striking individual differences both in the specific events that occasion these emotions and also in their pervasiveness.
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Klass, E.T. (1990). Guilt, Shame, and Embarrassment. In: Leitenberg, H. (eds) Handbook of Social and Evaluation Anxiety. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2504-6_13
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