Shame and Guilt among First-And Second-Generation Asian Americans and European Americans

Abstract

Shame and guilt narratives of first-and second-generation Asian Americans and multigeneration European Americans were collected in semistructured interviews to learn how respondents perceive the phenomenology, function, and interpersonal dynamics of these emotions. This article focuses on the formal characteristics of shame episodes reported by members of these groups and offers an interpretive explanation for differences that involve respondents' conceptions of the self and related cultural practices. The analysis proposes that shame is at times embedded in a triadic structure for first generation Asian Americans comprised of the actor, a shamed other, and an audience. European American shame experiences, however, typically conform to a dyadic structure of actor and audience. Shame stories of second-generation Asian Americans contain elements of both emotion ecologies that may reflect a unique, bicultural adaptation. These findings are consistent with a cultural constructionist view of the emotions.