Shame Responses Research Articles

Investigating the moderating role of altruistic beliefs on negative emotional appeals in digital charity advertising: A study on guilt, shame, and donation intention among Indonesian donors

The rising demand for charitable organizations is fueled by increasing numbers of people in need, growing inequalities, and crises such as wars, natural disasters, and inflation. Charities face the challenge of securing sufficient funding, worsened by increased competition and a decline in public donation behavior. Developing new marketing strategies is crucial, particularly leveraging social media in the digital age. While previous research underscores the persuasive power of emotional advertising, gaps remain in understanding which emotions most effectively drive donation intentions. This thesis explores the impact of emotional advertising appeals in digital charity marketing campaigns on donation intention, investigating whether positive or negative appeals are more influential. Additionally, it examines gender differences in altruism and how altruistic values moderate the effects of negative emotional appeals on guilt and shame. An experimental research design was used, with a between-subject design involving three groups exposed to positive, negative, or neutral advertising stimuli. The sample consisted of 200 respondents over 18 years old, representative of the Indonesian population. Participants were randomly assigned to groups and answered questions on donation intentions, altruistic values, emotional reactions, and demographics. Statistical analysis revealed that positive and negative advertising appeals elicit different emotions. Surprisingly, no significant difference was found between positive and negative appeals on donation intention, suggesting emotional orientation does not influence donation intentions. The study also found stronger altruistic beliefs in women and that altruistic values amplify guilt and shame in response to negative emotional appeals.

Can scent-detection dogs detect the stress associated with trauma cue exposure in people with trauma histories? A proof-of-concept study.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an impairing mental health condition with high prevalence among military and general populations alike. PTSD service dogs are a complementary and alternative intervention needing scientific validation. We investigated whether dogs can detect putative stress-related volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the breath of people with trauma histories (54% with PTSD) exposed to personalized trauma cues. Breath samples were collected from 26 humans over 40 experimental sessions during a calm (control breath sample) and stressed state induced by trauma cue exposure (target breath sample). Two scent detection canines were presented with the samples in a two alternative forced choice (2AFC) discrimination and yes/no detection task. The 2AFC task assessed the dogs' ability to discriminate between the two states within the breath samples of one individual. The detection task determined their ability to generalize the target odour across different individuals and different stressful events of one individual. Signal Detection Theory was applied to assess dogs' sensitivity, specificity, precision, and response bias. The dogs performed at ∼90% accuracy across all sample sets in the discrimination experiment, and at 74% and 81% accuracy, respectively, in the detection experiment. Further analysis of dog olfactory performance in relation to human donor self-reported emotional responses to trauma cue exposure suggested the dogs may have been detecting distinct endocrine stress markers. One dog's performance correlated with the human donors' self-reported fear responses and the other dog's performance correlated with the human donors' self-reported shame responses. Based on these correlations between dog performance and donor self-report measures, we speculate that the VOCs each dog was detecting likely originated from the sympathetico-adreno-medullary axis (SAM; adrenaline, noradrenaline) in the case of the first dog and the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA; glucocorticoids) in the case of the second dog. Our proof-of-concept study is the first to demonstrate that some dogs can detect putative VOCs emitted by people with trauma histories when experiencing distress theoretically associated with the intrusion and arousal/reactivity symptoms of PTSD. Results have potential to improve the effectiveness and training protocol of PTSD service dogs with a focus on enhancing their alert function.

Psychophysiological responses of shame in young children: A thermal imaging study.

Shame can be defined as the emotional response to one's violations of rules being exposed to others. However, it is difficult to objectively measure this concept. This study examined the psychophysiological indicators of shame in young children using behavioral methods and thermography, which measures facial temperatures that reflect blood flow changes related to emotions. Four- to six-year-old children participated in an "animal guessing game," in which they lied about having violated a rule. They were assigned to either the exposure or the non-exposure group. In the exposure group, participants' lies were exposed by the experimenter, whereas in the non-exposure group, their lies were not. Results showed that at the behavioral level, participants in the exposure group expressed characteristic behaviors of shame (e.g., embarrassed smiles) more often than those in the non-exposure group. Moreover, the nasal temperatures of participants in the exposure group were higher than those of participants in the other group after the lie was exposed. These results suggest that participants' lies being exposed induced psychophysiological responses and consequently raised their nasal temperature. This finding indicates that psychophysiological responses can enable us to objectively measure higher-order emotions in young children.

Appraisal of male privilege: On the dual role of identity threat and shame in response to confrontations with male privilege

Interventions that confront men with male privilege can threaten their social identity. Past research on White privilege confrontations has suggested group-image threat is a positive predictor of positive privilege attitudes. However, research on emotional appraisals of ingroup transgressions demonstrates that feelings of shame elicited by the ingroup's negative image lead to less constructive responses while feelings of shame elicited by the ingroup's moral failure motivate more positive reactions. To reconcile these different predictions, we examined how relevant dimensions of threat (to the ingroup's image or to moral values of the group) and subsequent experiences of shame (image shame, moral shame) affect men's privilege attitudes in response to male privilege confrontations. Across three preregistered experiments (N = 1463 men), we found that male confronters were evaluated more positively, which was explained through lower levels of image concerns toward male confronters. We also found evidence that morality concerns are related to more positive responses. Although the total effects on privilege attitudes were small, our findings highlight the importance for future research and practice to distinguish between the positive effects of moral threat through moral shame and the negative effects of group-image threat through image shame in privilege interventions.

Electrophysiological, emotional and behavioural responses of female targets of sexual objectification

Sexual objectification and the interiorized objectifying gaze (self-objectification) are dangerous phenomena for women’s psychological wellness. However, their specific effects on women’s socio-affective reactions are still poorly understood, and their neural activity has never been explored before. In the present study, we investigated women’s emotional and electrophysiological responses during simulated computer-based objectifying social interactions, and we examined consequent punishing behaviours towards the perpetrator using the ultimatum game. Behavioural results (N = 36) showed that during objectifying encounters women generally felt angrier/disgusted and tended to punish the perpetrator in later interactions. However, the more the women self-objectified, the more they felt ashamed (p = 0.011) and tended to punish the perpetrators less (p = 0.008). At a neural level (N = 32), objectifying interactions modulated female participants’ neural signal elicited during the processing of the perpetrator, increasing early (N170) and later (EPN, LPP) ERP components. In addition, only the amplitude of the LPP positively correlated with shame (p = 0.006) and the level of self-objectification (p = 0.018). This finding provides first evidence for the specific time-course of sexual objectification, self-objectification and its associated shame response, and proves that emotional and social consequences of sexual objectification in women may depend on their tendency to self-objectify.

Moral emotions in early childhood: Validation of the Chinese moral emotion questionnaire

AbstractMoral emotions such as pride, guilt and shame play an important role in the social‐emotional development of preschool children. However, there are not many instruments available for measuring moral emotions in the preschool age. Moreover, relatively few research had examined cross‐cultural validity of measures for moral emotions. The present study tested the Chinese version of the Moral emotion questionnaire (MEQ) upon a group of (N = 182) Chinese preschool children aged from 2 to 6 years. The Chinese MEQ is a parent‐report translated from Dutch, assessing behavioural responses of pride, guilt and shame in preschool children. Confirmatory factor analysis showed satisfactory goodness‐of‐fit indexes for a three‐factor structure (Pride, Guilt, Shame) with 15 loading items. For concurrent relations, the results suggested an adaptive role of pride and guilt and a maladaptive role of shame in the social‐emotional development of preschool children. We could conclude that the 15‐item Chinese MEQ is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring pride, guilt, and shame in 2–6‐year‐old children in the Chinese context.

Nonsuicidal self-injury, sleep quality, and shame response to a laboratory stress task.

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) frequently functions to regulate shame-based emotions and cognitions in the context of interpersonal stress. The present study sought to examine how sleep quality (SQ) may influence this process in a laboratory setting. Participants included 72 adults (Mage = 24.28; 36 with a lifetime history of NSSI) who completed a self-report measure of prior month SQ and engaged in a modified Trier social stress task (TSST). State shame ratings were collected immediately before and following the TSST, as well as 5 min post-TSST, to allow for the measurement of shame reactivity and recovery. No significant results emerged for NSSI history and SQ as statistical predictors of shame reactivity. However, NSSI history was significantly associated with heightened shame intensity during the recovery period of the task, and this was moderated by SQ. Simple slopes analyses revealed a conditional effect whereby poorer SQ (1SD above the mean) was associated with greater intensity of shame during recovery, but only for those with a history of NSSI. Poor SQ may contribute to worrisome emotional responses to daytime stressors in those at risk for NSSI.

Decolonizing Purity Culture: Gendered Racism and White Idealization in Evangelical Christianity

Purity culture is a phenomenon promulgated by evangelical Christianity that teaches strict adherence to sexual abstinence prior to heterosexual marriage. Extant research illuminated the ways these teachings have harmed women by normalizing the oppression of their bodies, restricting sexual agency, teaching a shame response to pleasure, and perpetuating rape culture. Notably, these studies have centered white women’s experiences, and to date, there is a dearth of literature examining how these teachings uniquely impact Women of Color. There remains a paucity of research about the ways in which purity culture has perpetuated colonial and Eurocentric values that have systematically oppressed Women of Color. Framed by critical race feminism and intersectionality, we examined the lived experiences of nine Women of Color impacted by evangelical purity culture, revealing the nuanced ways in which gendered racism and white idealization influenced participants’ alliance to and embodiment of their intersecting racialized and gendered identities. With the insights gleaned from this study, we encourage readers to (a) raise their consciousness about the insidious mechanisms through which purity culture and the religious right operate and (b) actively dismantle forms of internalized oppression through radical acts of healing, and systematically through disrupting the perpetuation of purity culture rhetoric.

Proneness for and aversion to self-conscious emotion in posttraumatic stress.

Theory suggests that self-conscious emotions (guilt and shame) may play a role in the development/maintenance of posttraumatic stress. Propensities to experience these emotions (i.e., proneness) may confer risk for posttraumatic stress, while difficulties tolerating or coping with them (i.e., aversion) may maintain or exacerbate symptoms. However, no research to date has examined the importance of guilt aversion or shame aversion in posttraumatic stress. A total of 336 participants provided open-ended information on their experience of potentially traumatic events; a team of trained raters determined that a final sample of 186 participants had a clinically significant history of trauma. These participants completed measures of posttraumatic stress, along with measures of proneness for and aversion to both guilt and shame. Negative affect and experiential avoidance were assessed as covariates. Zero-order correlations indicated that guilt-proneness and guilt aversion were not associated with posttraumatic stress. By contrast, shame-proneness was associated with posttraumatic stress over and above trait negative affect and experiential avoidance. Moreover, a significant interaction revealed that shame-proneness was only associated with posttraumatic stress when shame aversion was high. Results suggest that people high in shame-proneness, and therefore likely to experience shame in response to traumatic events, may experience greater posttraumatic stress if they are shame averse. If this is the case, addressing shame directly and teaching better skills for regulating it may be an important treatment goal for some individuals with posttraumatic stress. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Professional Engineering Socialization at the Intersection of Collective Constructions of Expectations and Individual Shame Experiences

<strong>Background:</strong> Prior work has investigated engineering students’ professional formation through the lens of individual experience and from a cultural perspective. The concept of professional shame provides an opportunity to explore students’ experiences of disciplinary expectations as situated in a context of engineering social norms. <strong>Purpose:</strong> In this study, we investigated (i) how students experienced subjectively not meeting their internalized expectations of what it means to be and succeed as an engineering student and (ii) their reactions and responses to such experiences and how those experiences manifested in the social context. <strong>Methodology:</strong> We conducted 10 focus groups involving 38 total participants. We then coded and qualitatively analyzed focus group transcripts using an ethnographic focus on how students encounter and respond to shame within the cultural context. Our data gathering and analysis was theoretically framed by a model of professional shame as a mediating factor in how students interpreted and eventually co-constructed shared engineering expectations and master narratives during their professional socialization. <strong>Findings: </strong> We identified six main patterns of responses to shame that students enacted and that, in turn, interacted to form social norms around expectations. These responses, which emerged as nuanced and context dependent, are: (i) hiding (ii) masking (iii) trivializing shame experiences (iv) emulating perceived success markers (v) suffering passively (vi) legitimizing shame experiences. Our findings also demonstrate a complex interplay between the students’ individual and professional sense of self that significantly impacts professional socialization in engineering. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> Shame has emerged as a key mechanism in engineering professional socialization as students’ shame responses influence both their individual identity and the ways they collectively co-produce cultural norms. An awareness of these often-invisible dynamics can enable educators to empathically engage students in ways that allow for vulnerability and struggle while promoting healthy positive development.

The causes and consequences of shame in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Research into the aetiology, maintenance, and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has largely been informed by models of anxiety. However, non-experimental research suggests that some individuals may engage in compulsions to neutralise shame, with repugnant obsessions associated with more shame than other obsessions. Violent and sexual obsessions and shame have been linked with poorer treatment outcomes, and thus, treatment modifications are needed. This experimental study aimed to examine if and how shame fits into a cognitive behavioural model of OCD. Fifty-five individuals experiencing subclinical (n = 9) to clinical (n = 46) OCD symptoms were randomly administered four different obsession induction paradigms focused on harm, sexual, contamination, and symmetry obsessions. After each induction, participants reported on their emotional states, gave appraisal ratings regarding their urges to engage in compulsions and avoidant behaviour, and completed manipulation checks. Harm and sexual inductions elicited greater shame and anxiety and were considered more immoral than contamination and symmetry inductions. Shame responses were also independently associated with compulsion and avoidance behaviours in repugnant obsessions, controlling for anxiety. Theoretical models and treatment for OCD should be adapted to address shame.

To shoot or not to shoot: experiments on moral injury in the context of West Bank checkpoints and COVID-19 restrictions enforcement

ABSTRACT Background Does exposure to events that transgress accepted norms, such as killing innocent civilians, prompt the psychological and emotional consequences of moral injury among soldiers? Moral injury is associated with negative emotions such as guilt, shame and anger, and a sense of betrayal and is identified among veterans following exposure to potentially morally injurious events (PMIE). Objective We experimentally investigate how PMIE characteristics affect the intensity of MI and related negative moral emotions in participants with varied military experience. Method We conducted three controlled, randomized experiments. Each exposed male respondents with active combat experience (Study 1) and varied military experience (Study 2) to four textual vignettes describing PMIE (child/adult and innocent/non-innocent suspect) that transpire at an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank. In study 3, we exposed participants to two scenarios, where descriptions of police officers enforcing COVID 19 restrictions confronted lockdown violators. Results Participants assigned to vignettes describing killing an innocent civilian exhibited more intense levels of shame and guilt than those assigned to vignettes describing killing a person carrying a bomb. Religiosity and political ideology were strong predictors of guilt and shame in response to descriptions of checkpoint shootings. These effects disappeared in Study 3, suggesting that political ideology drives MI in intergroup conflict. Conclusions Background and PMIE-related characteristics affect the development of moral injury. Additionally, lab experiments demonstrate the potential and limitations of controlled studies of moral injury and facilitate an understanding of the aetiology of moral injury in a way unavailable to clinicians. Finally, experimental findings and methodologies offer further insights into the genesis of moral injury and avenues for therapy and prophylaxis.

Responses to Shame: Influences of Adherence to Masculinity Norms

Managing negative emotions is challenging even without the overlay of socially constructed gender role norms. We were curious about the effects of being confronted with shame on young men who either adhere strongly to traditional masculine gender roles norms or are nonconforming to these norms. We evaluated the shame responses of college men (N = 23), using the Thurston-Craddock Test of Shame (TCTS; Thurston &amp; Craddock, 1998) as our stimulus while measuring physiological and verbal responses. Men in the traditional masculinity norms conforming group scored significantly higher (p = .001, η2 = .58) on 7 of the 11 subscales from the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI; Mahalik et al., 2003) than men in the nonconforming group. When presented with shame-based stimuli, we found differences in heart rate variability depending on the level of overt shame in the stimulus with the two groups, p = .038, η2 = .12. The use of aggressive language when confronted with overt examples of shame was not different for our comparison groups. Our results indicate that men who adhere to traditional masculine norms hold different values for interacting with women, physical confrontation, and being in control of situations and others than men who have not internalized the traditional values of American masculinity. Understanding the continuum of values and responses to difficult emotions continues to be a valuable area to study.

Making Sense of Shame in Response to Racism

AbstractSome people of colour feel shame in response to racist incidents. This phenomenon seems puzzling since, plausibly, they have nothing to feel shame about. This puzzle arises because we assume that targets of racism feel shame about their race. However, I propose that when an individual is racialised as non-White in a racist incident, shame is sometimes prompted, not by a negative self-assessment of her race, but by her inability to choose when her stigmatised race is made salient. I argue that this can make sense of some shame responses to racism. My account also helps to highlight some of the emotional and cognitive costs of racism that have their root in shame as well as a new form of hermeneutical injustice and distinctive communicative harms, contributing to a fuller picture of what is objectionable about racism.

Shame in Response to Affective Expression and Its Relation to Social Anhedonia and Schizotypy Traits.

Schizotypy is marked by negative symptoms including blunted affect, social isolation, and social anhedonia. Contemporary personality theory suggests that maladaptive shame regulation may disrupt interpersonal function across personality disorders. We hypothesized that "affect shame"-a conditioned response of shame evoked by openly expressing emotions would co-occur with interpersonal deficits in schizotypy. As hypothesized, affect shame was associated with interpersonal deficits (r = 0.17, p < 0.001), physical anhedonia (r = 0.13, p = 0.001), and social anhedonia (r = 0.17, p = 0.001). The observed findings were upheld in analyses controlling for demographic characteristics, depression symptom severity, and neuroticism and were maintained consistently across sensitivity analyses. Findings suggest that shame related to emotional expression is related to interpersonal deficits in schizotypy and have implications for our understanding of the etiology and treatment of this disorder.

Can impostors thrive at work? The impostor phenomenon's role in work and career outcomes

This paper examines the effect the impostor phenomenon (IP) on short-term emotions (shame) and performance (creativity and organizational citizenship behavior- OCB) at work, and on career outcomes. Previous research shows direct detrimental effects of IP on some short-term performance measures, but effects on creativity and OCB remain under-researched, and no work has investigated any career effects. Through an experimental approach (Studies 1 and 3) and an online vignette (Study 2) using working populations, we find that IP is expressed as shame in response to simulated and recalled real work events. Shame mediates the negative effect of IP on creativity, and its positive effect on OCB, and mechanistic organizational structure exacerbates the negative shame-creativity relationship. Furthermore, Study 4 uses a survey design to reveal that IP relates negatively to external employability and career success. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we suggest that IP and shame deplete resources such that impostors suffer reduced ability to perform well at work in the short-term, with negative consequences for career success.

Acute shame in response to dissociative detachment: evidence from non-clinical and traumatised samples

ABSTRACT Two studies employed a dissociative detachment induction technique to examine if experiences of dissociation increased acute shame feelings. Study 1 recruited college participants, while Study 2 enlisted adults attending treatment for childhood sexual abuse. Two hypotheses were explored: (1) more shame would be reported following a dissociative detachment induction than a relaxation induction; and (2) shame would increase when detachment was induced in the relationship context of a close other than when alone. Study 1 (N = 81) effectively induced detachment and participants reported higher shame in this condition compared to the relaxation condition. This effect was maintained when state anxiety was controlled. The relationship context produced no impact on dissociation or shame. Attributions around feeling flawed predominantly linked detachment experiences with subsequent shame feelings. In Study 2 with clinical participants (N = 28), regression analyses showed state shame was predicted by acute detachment after controlling for state anxiety, gender, and trait shame and dissociation. The most common appraisals offered for why detachment led to feelings of shame was being flawed and exposed. Collectively, our findings suggest that increased acute shame results from detachment experiences, making more specific the relationship between shame and dissociation.

The Compass of Shame Scale: Dimensionality and Gender Measurement Invariance in a Portuguese Sample

Different shame coping strategies directly influence shame experience. However, the assessment of these strategies has received little attention. The Compass of Shame Scale (CoSS-5) was developed to assess shame-coping styles and has proven to be a valid measure. In this study, the CoSS-5 dimensionality was examined throughout confirmatory analysis and its measurement invariance across gender was investigated for the original (four-factor) and a new recently proposed measurement model (five-factor). The sample consisted of 605 Portuguese adults (57.5% female; Mean age = 35.43) recruited from the community. In addition to the CoSS-5, participants completed other measures relevant for construct validity. Both the four and the five-factor measurement models revealed a good fit to the data. Good reliability values were found for all factors, with Cronbach’s alphas ranging between .79 and .90. The CoSS-5 also proved to be gender invariant, regardless of the measurement model. The subscales of CoSS-5 associated in the expected direction with measures of external shame, self-critical and self-reassuring responses, psychological flexibility/inflexibility, and psychopathology symptoms. This study highlights the relevance of the CoSS-5 in advancing knowledge on the impact of shame-coping styles on psychopathological outcomes, making it available for use in research and clinical settings.

When impulsive behaviours do not equal self-control failures: the (added) value of temptation enactments

Most work on self-control and impulsivity typically assumes, more or less tacitly, that people value self-control as more important than succumbing to temptations. According to this narrative, people regard impulsive behaviours as ‘failures’ of self-control and experience negative self-evaluations such as feelings of guilt or shame in response. Here, we direct attention to a neglected but crucial meta-behavioural valuation dimension of impulsive behaviour. We posit that individual differences in people's valuation of temptation enactment (VOTE) qualify whether and to what extent impulsive behaviours trigger negative self-evaluations and whether and to what extent people feel motivated to self-improve. Using a newly constructed VOTE scale, we first show that individual differences in VOTE can be reliably measured and clearly distinguished from traditional impulsivity or self-control scales (Studies 1–3; total N = 576). Across three subsequent studies (total N = 460), we then demonstrate that high VOTE, as compared with low VOTE, reduces the link between impulsive behaviours and negative self-conscious emotions (Studies 4 and 5), as well as between past impulsive behaviour and self-improvement motivation (Study 6). These findings have implications for the discourse on self-control failure and for the link between impulsive behaviour and self-evaluation, self-improvement motivation, and well-being.

The effect of school exposure and personal contact on attitudes towards bullying and autism in schools: A cohort study with a control group.

Research shows that the attitudes of children and adolescents towards bullying are influenced by the school environment and their peer groups. Given the increased vulnerability to bullying for autistic children, this study explored whether neurotypical children’s attitudes towards bullying and autism varied according to school exposure and personal contact with autistic people. Survey data were collected at the beginning and end of the school year from 775 children aged 11–12 years, from six schools: three with specialist centres for autism and three without. Participants read vignettes depicting bullying scenarios then completed measures of their attitudes in relation to the vignette and towards autism. Children from centre schools showed a greater increase in prosocial emotions towards bullying. For children from non-centre schools, an interaction showed a decrease in prosocial emotions except in response to social exclusion of an autistic child. Increases in personal contact showed a greater increase in positive attitudes towards autistic people. Explanations draw on theories of inter-group contact and social-moral reasoning. Results highlight the need for contact both at a personal level and through attending a school with an inclusive autism provision to increase understanding, improve attitudes towards autism and reduce tolerance for bullying.Lay abstractAutistic children are more likely than non-autistic children to be bullied at school. This study therefore explored whether the kind of school setting and the level of personal contact with autistic people can affect children’s attitudes towards bullying and autism. Surveys were completed at the beginning and end of the school year by 775 children aged 11–12 years, from six schools: three with specialist centres for autistic children and three without. Participants read stories describing bullying situations, then provided their views in relation to the story and in relation to autism. Children in schools with centres increased their feelings of anger, pity, sadness and shame in response to the bullying situations. In contrast, children in schools with no centre showed less sociable responses to bullying, except in response to a story describing an autistic child, being excluded by classmates. Furthermore, children who increased the time they spent with autistic individuals over the course of the year showed a greater rise in positive attitudes towards autistic people. This highlights the need for both personal contact and an inclusive school environment, to improve attitudes towards autism and reduce tolerance for bullying.