The aim of this study was to examine the associations between women's actual:ideal weight-related self-discrepancies and experiences of weight-related shame, guilt, and authentic pride using self-discrepancy (Higgins, 1987) and self-conscious emotion (Tracy & Robins, 2004) theories as guiding frameworks. Participants (N=398) completed self-report questionnaires. Main analyses involved polynomia...

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are associated with elevated depression, suicidality, functional impairment, and days housebound, yet little research has identified risk factors for these outcomes. Using path analysis, the present study examined anxiety and shame as risk factors for these outcomes across Internet-recruited self-report groups (BDD [n = 114]...

Our program of research focuses on shame as a key emotional response to "social self" threats (i.e., social evaluation or rejection). We propose that shame may orchestrate specific patterns of psychobiological changes under these conditions. A series of studies demonstrates that acute threats to the social self increase proinflammatory cytokine activity and cortisol and that these changes occur...

This study mainly examined two hypotheses: the first, based on Benedict’s argument that Japanese culture is a “culture of shame,” is that Japanese interpersonal competences are facilitated by shame but not guilt, the second, narcissism inhibits use of the Japanese interpersonal competencies. The respondents were 408 Japanese university students. NPI-S, TOSCA-3, and JICS were applied for assessi...

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease associated with high levels of psychological distress and considerable life impact. Feelings of shame and stigmatization can lead to avoidance of social activity and intimacy. In this study, the questionnaire TSD-Q was used to evaluate pleasure in touching oneself and in a partnership, parental touching during childhood and (skin-related) shame and disgust. S...

Public shaming has long been thought to promote positive behavioral change. However, studies suggest that shame may be a detrimental response to problematic behavior because it motivates hiding, escape, and general avoidance of the problem. We tested whether shame about one’s past addictive drinking (measured via nonverbal displays and self-report) predicts future drinking behaviors and changes...

Gilbert (2005) proposed that the capacity for self-compassion is integral to overcoming shame and psychopathology. We tested this model among 74 individuals with an eating disorder admitted to specialized treatment. Participants completed measures assessing self-compassion, fear of self-compassion, shame, and eating disorder symptoms at admission and every 3 weeks during treatment. At baseline,...

This study explored the role of guilt and shame in early prosocial behavior by extending previous findings that guilt- and shame-like responses can be distinguished in toddlers and, for the first time, examining their associations with helping. Toddlers (n = 32; Mage  = 28.9 months) were led to believe they broke an adult's toy, after which they exhibited either a guilt-like response that inclu...

The psychometric properties of the Japanese Test of Self-Conscious Affect-3 (TOSCA-3), a self-report measure of self-conscious emotions, were examined in Japanese university students. Confirmatory factor analyses showed good fits of the theory-driven model for 6 emotions to the data. The subscales of the TOSCA-3 showed moderate correlations and internal consistency. Only the Shame subscale was ...