Are shame, guilt, and embarrassment distinct emotions?

Evidence for the Distinctness of Embarrassment, Shame, and Guilt: A Study of Recalled Antecedents and Facial Expressions of Emotion

Following proposals regarding the criteria for differentiating emotions, the current investigation examined whether the antecedents and facial expressions of embarrassment, shame, and guilt are distinct. In Study 1, participants wrote down events that had caused them to feel embarrassment, shame, and guilt. Coding of these events revealed that embarrassment was associated with transgressions of...

Guilt, Shame and Embarrassment: Revelations of Face and Self

The authors derive evidence on guilt, shame and embarrassment from (a) Chinese and Japanese cultural data on expressions of emotion, (b) empirical studies of losing face, and ~"\ (c) multilingual-multicultural clinical experiences. A scheme that J has transcultural applicability is proposed for differentiating guilt, shame and embarrassment. The evidence supports the conclusion that these three...

Self-Conscious Emotions: The Psychology of Shame, Guilt, Embarrassment, and Pride

Moral emotions and moral behavior.

Moral emotions represent a key element of our human moral apparatus, influencing the link between moral standards and moral behavior. This chapter reviews current theory and research on moral emotions. We first focus on a triad of negatively valenced "self-conscious" emotions-shame, guilt, and embarrassment. As in previous decades, much research remains focused on shame and guilt. We review cur...

Cross-Domain Effects of Guilt on Desire for Self-Improvement Products

This research examines the notion that guilt, the negative emotion stemming from a failure to meet a self-held standard of behavior, leads to preferences for products enabling self-improvement, even in domains unrelated to the original source of the guilt. Examining consumer responses to real products, this research shows that such effects arise because guilt—by its focus on previous wrongdoing...