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Not so ugly after all: When shame acts as a commitment device.

Year: 2008

Type: article

Abstract: Most psychological theories and research on shame focus on the ugly aspects and negative consequences of this emotion. Theories on moral emotions, however, assume that shame acts as a commitment device motivating prosocial behavior. To solve this apparent paradox, the authors studied the effects of shame on prosocial behavior. Shame was hypothesized to motivate prosocial behavior when it was relevant for the decision at hand (endogenous). In contrast, shame that was not relevant for the decision at hand (exogenous) was hypothesized to have no such effects. Four experiments with three different shame inductions and two different measures of prosocial behavior confirmed that endogenous shame motivated prosocial behavior for proselfs but that exogenous shame did not. Shame is shown to have a clear interpersonal function in the sense that it acts as a commitment device.

Source: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

DOI: 10.1037/a0011991

Authors: Ilona E. de Hooge, Seger M. Breugelmans, Marcel Zeelenberg

Institution: Tilburg University

Language: English

Topic: Emotions and Moral Behavior

Subfield: Social Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W2090942346

FWCI: 12.04

Cites: 59

Cited by: 306

Related to: 10