Shame - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Shame

Shame
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shame is a painful, social emotion that can be seen as resulting

"...from comparison of the self's action with the self's
standards...".[1] but which may equally stem from comparison
of the self's state of being with the ideal social context's
standard. Thus, shame may stem from volitional action or
simply self-regard; no action by the shamed being is required:
simply existing is enough. Both the comparison and standards
are enabled by socialization. Though usually considered an
emotion, shame may also variously be considered an affect,
cognition, state, or condition.

The roots of the word shame are thought to derive from an older
word meaning "to cover"; as such, covering oneself, literally or
figuratively, is a natural expression of shame.[2] Nineteenth-
century scientist Charles Darwin, in his book The Expression of
the Emotions in Man and Animals, described shame affect as
consisting of blushing, confusion of mind, downward cast eyes, Eve covers herself and lowers her
slack posture, and lowered head, and he noted observations of head in shame in Rodin's Eve
shame affect in human populations worldwide.[3] He also noted after the Fall.
the sense of warmth or heat (associated with the vasodilation of
the face and skin) occurring in intense shame.

A "sense of shame" is the feeling known as guilt but "consciousness" or awareness of "shame as a
state" or condition defines core/toxic shame (Lewis, 1971; Tangney, 1998). The key emotion in all
forms of shame is contempt (Miller, 1984; Tomkins, 1967). Two distinct domains that shame is
expressed are the consciousness of self as bad and the other is self as inadequate. People employ
negative coping responses to counter deep rooted, associated sense of "shameworthiness".[4] The
shame cognition may occur as a result of the experience of shame affect or, more generally, in any
situation of embarrassment, dishonor, disgrace, inadequacy, humiliation, or chagrin.[5]

A "state of shame" is assigned internally from being a victim of environment were the sense of self
is stigmatized like being denigrated by caregivers, overtly rejected by parents in favor of siblings
needs, etc. and the same is assigned externally, by others, regardless of one's own experience or
awareness. "To shame" generally means to actively assign or communicate a state of shame to
another. Behaviors designed to "uncover" or "expose" others are sometimes used for this purpose,
as are utterances like "Shame!" or "Shame on you!" Finally, to "have shame" means to maintain a
sense of restraint against offending others (as with modesty, humility, and deference) while to "have
no shame" is to behave without such restraint (as with excessive pride or hubris).

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Contents
1 Comparison with guilt and embarrassment
2 Subtypes
3 Consequences
3.1 Narcissism
3.2 Stigma
4 Social aspects
4.1 Shame campaign
5 Research
6 See also
7 Further reading
8 External links
9 References

Comparison with guilt and embarrassment

The location of the dividing line between the concepts of
shame, guilt, and embarrassment is not fully standardized.[6]
According to cultural anthropologist Ruth Benedict, shame is a
violation of cultural or social values while guilt feelings arise
from violations of one's internal values. Thus shame arises
when one's 'defects' are exposed to others, and results from the
negative evaluation (whether real or imagined) of others; guilt,
on the other hand, comes from one's own negative evaluation of
oneself, for instance, when one acts contrary to one's values or
idea of one's self.[7] (Thus, it might be possible to feel ashamed
of thought or behavior that no one actually knows about [since
one fears their discovery] and conversely, to feel guilty about
actions that gain the approval of others.)

Psychoanalyst Helen B. Lewis argued that, "The experience of

shame is directly about the self, which is the focus of Person hiding face and showing
evaluation. In guilt, the self is not the central object of negative posture of shame (while wearing
evaluation, but rather the thing done is the focus."[8] Similarly, a Sanbenito and coroza hat) in
Fossum and Mason say in their book Facing Shame that "While Goya's sketch "For being born
guilt is a painful feeling of regret and responsibility for one's somewhere else". The person has
actions, shame is a painful feeling about oneself as a person."[9] been shamed by the Spanish
Inquisition.
Following this line of reasoning, Psychiatrist Judith Lewis
Herman concludes that "Shame is an acutely self-conscious

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state in which the self is 'split,' imagining the self in the eyes of the other; by contrast, in guilt the
self is unified."[10]

Clinical psychologist Gershen Kaufman's view of shame is derived from that of affect theory,
namely that shame is one of a set of instinctual, short-duration physiological reactions to
stimulation.[11][12] In this view, guilt is considered to be a learned behavior consisting essentially of
self-directed blame or contempt, with shame occurring consequent to such behaviors making up a
part of the overall experience of guilt. Here, self-blame and self-contempt mean the application,
towards (a part of) one's self, of exactly the same dynamic that blaming of, and contempt for, others
represents when it is applied interpersonally.

Kaufman saw that mechanisms such as blame or contempt may be used as a defending strategy
against the experience of shame and that someone who has a pattern of applying them to himself
may well attempt to defend against a shame experience by applying self-blame or self-contempt.
This, however, can lead to an internalized, self-reinforcing sequence of shame events for which
Kaufman coined the term "shame spiral".[11] (However, notice that the word "shame spiral" or
"spiral of shame " might also be used to indicate *public shaming*, I.e. The behavior of attacking
somebody in mass for his/her viewpoints or particular words. This can especially refer to cyber
bullying). Shame can also be used as a strategy when feeling guilt, in particular when there is the
hope to avoid punishment by inspiring pity.[13]

One view of difference between shame and embarrassment says that shame does not necessarily
involve public humiliation while embarrassment does; that is, one can feel shame for an act known
only to oneself but in order to be embarrassed one's actions must be revealed to others. In the field
of ethics (moral psychology, in particular), however, there is debate as to whether or not shame is a
heteronomous emotion, i.e. whether or not shame does involve recognition on the part of the
ashamed that they have been judged negatively by others.

Another view of the dividing line between shame and embarrassment holds that the difference is
one of intensity.[14] In this view embarrassment is simply a less intense experience of shame. It is
adaptive and functional. Extreme or toxic shame is a much more intense experience and one that is
not functional. In fact on this view toxic shame can be debilitating. The dividing line then is
between functional and dysfunctional shame. This includes the idea that shame has a function or
benefit for the organism.[15]

Immanuel Kant and his followers held that shame is heteronomous (comes from others); Bernard
Williams and others have argued that shame can be autonomous (comes from oneself).[16][17]
Shame may carry the connotation of a response to something that is morally wrong whereas
embarrassment is the response to something that is morally neutral but socially unacceptable.
Another view of shame and embarrassment says that the two emotions lie on a continuum and only
differ in intensity. Simply put: A person who feels guilt is saying "I did something bad.", while
someone who feels shame is saying "I am bad". There is a big difference between the
two.Template:Dr. Brene Brown, University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work

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Subtypes
Genuine shame: is associated with genuine dishonor, disgrace, or condemnation.
False shame: is associated with false condemnation as in the double bind form of false
shaming; "he brought what we did to him upon himself". Author and TV personality John
Bradshaw calls shame the "emotion that lets us know we are finite".[18]
Secret shame: describes the idea of being ashamed to be ashamed, so causing ashamed
people to keep their shame a secret.[19]
Toxic shame: describes false, pathological shame, and Bradshaw states that toxic shame is
induced, inside children, by all forms of child abuse. Incest and other forms of child sexual
abuse can cause particularly severe toxic shame. Toxic shame often induces what is known as
complex trauma in children who cannot cope with toxic shaming as it occurs and who
dissociate the shame until it is possible to cope with.[20]
Vicarious shame: refers to the experience of shame on behalf of another person. Individuals
vary in their tendency to experience vicarious shame, which is related to neuroticism and to
the tendency to experience personal shame. Extremely shame-prone people might even
experience vicarious shame even to an increased degree, in other words: shame on behalf of
another person who is already feeling shame on behalf of a third party (or possibly on behalf
of the individual proper). The Dutch term for this feeling is 'plaatsvervangende schaamte', the
German term is 'die Fremdscham' and in the Spanish language it is referred to as 'vergenza
ajena'.

Consequences
Gershen Kaufman summed up many of the consequences of shame in one paragraph of his book on
the psychology of shame:[21]

...shame is important because no other affect is more disturbing to the self, none more
central for the sense of identity. In the context of normal development, shame is the
source of low self-esteem, diminished self image, poor self concept, and deficient
body-image. Shame itself produces self-doubt and disrupts both security and confidence.
It can become an impediment to the experience of belonging and to shared intimacy....It
is the experiential ground from which conscience and identity inevitably evolve. In the
context of pathological development, shame is central to the emergence of alienation,
loneliness, inferiority and perfectionism. It plays a central role in many psychological
disorders as well, including depression, paranoia, addiction, and borderline conditions.
Sexual disorders and many eating disorders are largely disorders of shame. Both
physical abuse and sexual abuse also significantly involve shame.

Also, "...shame has been found to be a very strong predictor of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder...".[22]

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Narcissism

It has been suggested that narcissism in adults is related to defenses against shame[23] and that
narcissistic personality disorder is connected to shame as well.[24][25] According to psychiatrist
Glen Gabbard, NPD can be broken down into two subtypes, a grandiose, arrogant, thick-skinned
"oblivious" subtype and an easily hurt, oversensitive, ashamed "hypervigilant" subtype. The
oblivious subtype presents for admiration, envy, and appreciation a grandiose self that is the
antithesis of a weak internalized self which hides in shame, while the hypervigilant subtype
neutralizes devaluation by seeing others as unjust abusers.[24]

Stigma

Social aspects
Shame is considered one aspect of socialization in all societies. According to the anthropologist
Ruth Benedict, cultures may be classified by their emphasis on the use of either shame or guilt to
regulate the social activities of individuals.[26] Shared opinions and expected behaviours and
potential associated feelings of shame are in any case proven to be effective in guiding behaviour of
a group or society.

Shame may be used by those people who commit relational aggression and may occur in the
workplace as a form of overt social control or aggression. Shaming is also a central feature of
punishment, shunning, or ostracism. In this sense, the real purpose of shaming is not to punish
crimes but to create the kind of people who don't commit them.[27] In addition, shame is often
seen in victims of child neglect and child abuse.

Shame campaign

A shame campaign is a tactic in which particular individuals are singled out because of their
behavior or suspected crimes, often by marking them publicly, such as Hester Prynne in Nathaniel
Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. In the Philippines, Alfredo Lim popularized such tactics during his
term as mayor of Manila. On July 1, 1997, he began a controversial "spray paint shame campaign
in an effort to stop drug use. He and his team sprayed bright red paint on two hundred squatter
houses whose residents had been charged, but not yet convicted, of selling prohibited substances.
Officials of other municipalities followed suit. Former Senator Rene A. Saguisag condemned Lims
policy.[28]

Public humiliation, historically expressed by confinement in stocks and in other public punishments
may occur in social media through viral phenomena.[29]

Research

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Psychologists and other researchers who study shame use validated psychometric testing
instruments to determine whether or how much a person feels shame. Some of these tools include
the Guilt and Shame Proneness (GASP) Scale,[30] the Shame and Stigma Scale (SSS), the
Experience of Shame Scale, and the Internalized Shame Scale. Some scales are specific to the
person's situation, such as the Weight- and Body-Related Shame and Guilt scale (WEB-SG), the
HIV Stigma Scale for people living with HIV and the Cataldo Lung Cancer Stigma Scale (CLCSS)
for people with lung cancer.[31] Others are more general, such as the Emotional Reactions and
Thoughts Scale, which deals with anxiety, depression, and guilt as well as shame.

See also
Badge of shame Lady Macbeth effect Reintegrative shaming
Cognitive dissonance Online shaming Scopophobia
Guilt (emotion) Psychological projection

Further reading
Bradshaw, J. (1988) Healing the Shame That Binds You, HCI. ISBN 0-932194-86-9
Gilbert, P. (2002) Body Shame: Conceptualisation, Research and Treatment. Brunner-
Routledge. ISBN 1-58391-166-9
Gilbert, P. (1998) Shame: Interpersonal Behavior, Psychopathology and Culture. ISBN
0-19-511480-9
Goldberg, Carl (1991) Understanding Shame, Jason Aaronson, Inc., Northvale, NJ. ISBN
0-87668-541-6
Hutchinson, Phil (2008) Shame and Philosophy. London: Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN
0-230-54271-9
Lamb, R. E. (1983) Guilt, Shame, and Morality, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research,
Vol. XLIII, No. 3, March 1983.
Lewis, Michael (1992) Shame: The Exposed Self. NY: The Free Press. ISBN 0-02-918881-4
Middelton-Moz, J. (1990) Shame and Guilt: Masters of Disguise, HCI, ISBN 1-55874-072-4
Miller, Susan B. (1996) Shame in Context, Routledge, ISBN 0-88163-209-0
Morrison, Andrew P. (1996) The Culture of Shame. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-37484-3
Morrison, Andrew P. (1989) Shame: The Underside of Narcissism. The Analytic Press. ISBN
0-88163-082-9
Nathanson, D., ed. (1987) The Many Faces of Shame. NY: The Guilford Press. ISBN
0-89862-705-2
Schneider, Carl D. (1977) Shame, Exposure, and Privacy. Boston: Beacon Press, ISBN
0-8070-1121-5
Uebel, Michael (2012). "Psychoanalysis and the Question of Violence: From Masochism to
Shame". American Imago. 69 (4): 473505. doi:10.1353/aim.2012.0022.
Uebel, Michael (2016). "Dirty Rotten Shame? The Value and Ethical Functions of Shame".
Journal of Humanistic Psychology: 120. doi:10.1177/0022167816631398.

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Vallelonga, Damian S. (1997) An empirical phenomenological investigation of being

ashamed. In Valle, R. Phenomenological Inquiry in Psychology: Existential and
Transpersonal Dimensions. New York: Plenum Press, 123-155.

External links
Brene Brown Listening to Shame, TED Talk, March 2012 Wikimedia Commons
(http://www.ted.com/talks has media related to
/brene_brown_listening_to_shame.html) Shame.
Sample chapter from Phil Hutchinson's book Shame and
Philosophy (https://web.archive.org/web/20081217015247 Wikiquote has
/http://www.palgrave.com/PDFs/0230542719.Pdf) quotations related to:
Understanding Shame and Humiliation in Torture Shame
(http://www.humiliationstudies.org/documents
/ThukralFinalHumiliation.pdf) Look up shame in
Wiktionary, the free
US Forces Make Iraqis Strip and Walk Naked in Public
dictionary.
(https://web.archive.org/web/20060131091332/http:
//www.thememoryhole.org/war/stripped-iraqis.htm)
Shame (http://www.noogenesis.com/malama/shame.html)
Humiliation is Simply Wrong (USA Today Editorial/Opinion) (http://www.usatoday.com
/news/opinion/editorials/2004-08-31-oppose_x.htm)
Hiding from Humanity: Disgust, Shame, and the Law (http://press.princeton.edu/chapters
/i7697.html)
Shame and Psychotherapy (https://web.archive.org/web/20040820104726/http:
//www.columbiapsych.com/shame_miller.html)
Shame and Group Psychotherapy (http://www.birchmore.org/index.html)
Sexual Guilt and Shame (http://www.minou.com/adultsexuality/sex_guilt.htm)
Social usage of shame in historical times (http://www.shamestudies.de/)

References
1. Lewis, Michael. Shame: the exposed self. New
York: Free Press;, 1992. 10. Print,
2. Lewis, Helen B. (1971), Shame and guilt in
neurosis, International University Press, New
York, p. 63, ISBN 0-8236-8307-9
3. Darwin, Charles (1872), The expression of the
emotions in man and animals, London: John
Murray
4. Edward Teyber; Faith Teyber (2010).
Interpersonal Process in Therapy: An
Integrative Model. Cengage Learning. p. 137.
ISBN 0-495-60420-8.
5. Broucek, Francis (1991), Shame and the Self,
Guilford Press, New York, p. 5,
ISBN 0-89862-444-4
6. Tangney, JP; Miller Flicker Barlow (1996),
"Are shame, guilt, and embarrassment distinct
emotions?", Journal of Personal Social
Psychology, 70 (6): 125669,
doi:10.1037/0022-3514.70.6.1256,
PMID 8667166

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Shame - Wikipedia
7. "Cultural Models of Shame and Guilt"
(http://psych.stanford.edu/~tsailab
/PDF/yw07sce.pdf) Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20160418071015
/http://psych.stanford.edu/~tsailab
/PDF/yw07sce.pdf) April 18, 2016, at the
Wayback Machine.
8. Lewis, Helen B. (1971), Shame and guilt in
neurosis, International University Press, New
York, ISBN 0-8236-8307-9
9. Fossum, Merle A.; Mason, Marilyn J. (1986),
Facing Shame: Families in Recovery, W.W.
Norton, p. 5, ISBN 0-393-30581-3
10. Herman, Judith Lewis (2007), "Shattered
Shame States and their Repair" (PDF), The John
Bowlby Memorial Lecture, archived from the
original (PDF) on July 5, 2010
11. Kaufman, Gershen (1992), Shame: The Power
of Caring (3rd ed.), Schenkman Books,
Rochester, VT, ISBN 0-87047-052-3
12. Nathanson, Donald (1992), Shame and Pride:
Affect, Sex, and the Birth of the Self, W.W.
Norton, NY, ISBN 0-393-03097-0
13. Shame and the Origins of Self-esteem: A
Jungian Approach. Psychology Press. 1996.
pp. 23. ISBN 978-0-415-10580-4.
14. Graham, Michael C. (2014). Facts of Life: ten
issues of contentment. Outskirts Press.
pp. 7578. ISBN 978-1-4787-2259-5.
15. Graham, Michael C. (2014). Facts of Life: ten
issues of contentment. Outskirts Press. p. 62.
ISBN 978-1-4787-2259-5.
16. Williams, Bernard: Shame and Necessity
17. Hutchinson, Phil: chapter four of Shame and
Philosophy
18. Bradshaw, John (December 1996), Bradshaw
on the Family: A New Way of Creating Solid
Self-Esteem, HCI, ISBN 1-55874-427-4
19. Gilligan, James (1997) Violence: Reflections on
a National Epidemic Vintage Books, New York
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20. Bradshaw, John (2005) Healing the Shame That
Binds You (2nd edition) Health
Communications, Deerfield Beach, Florida,
page 101 (https://books.google.com
/books?id=JTuDfNyWR7kC&pg=PA101)
Archived (https://web.archive.org
/web/20160828010451/https:
//books.google.com
/books?id=JTuDfNyWR7kC&pg=PA101)
August 28, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.,
ISBN 0-7573-0323-4
21. Kaufman, Gershen. The psychology of shame:
theory and treatment of shame-based
syndromes. 2 ed. New York: Springer Pub. Co.,
1996. xvi. Print. ISBN 0-8261-6672-5.
22. Susmita Thukral. "Understanding Shame and
Humiliation in Torture". ORLJ 4859, Fall 2004,
Teachers College, Columbia University.
<"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from
the original on 2016-03-14. Retrieved
2006-01-26.>
23. Wurmser L, Shame, the veiled companion of
narcissism, in The Many Faces of Shame,
edited by Nathanson DL. New York, Guilford,
1987, pp. 6492.
24. Gabbard GO, subtypes of narcissistic
personality disorder.
(http://jppr.psychiatryonline.org
/cgi/external_ref?access_num=2819295&
link_type=MEDTwo) Bull Menninger Clin
1989; 53:527532.
25. Young, Klosko, Weishaar: Schema Therapy A
Practitioner's Guide, 2003, p. 375.
26. Stephen Pattison, Shame:Theory, Therapy and
Theology. Cambridge University Press. 2000.
54. ISBN 0521560454
27. Roger Scruton, BRING BACK STIGMA, in
Modern Sex: Liberation and its Discontents,
Chicago 2001, p. 186.
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28. Pulta, Benjamin B. "Spray campaign debate
heats up." (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static
/man/2003/06/26
/news/spray.campaign.debate.heats.up.html)
Archived (https://web.archive.org
/web/20070927200045/http:
//www.sunstar.com.ph/static/man/2003/06/26
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September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
Sun.Star Manila. June 26, 2003.
29. Jon Ronson (March 31, 2015). So You've Been
Publicly Shamed (hardcover). Riverhead Books.
ISBN 1594487138.
30. Cohen TR; Wolf ST; Panter AT; Insko CA
(May 2011). "Introducing the GASP scale: a
new measure of guilt and shame proneness". J
Pers Soc Psychol. 100 (5): 94766.
doi:10.1037/a0022641. PMID 21517196.
31. Cataldo JK; Slaughter R; Jahan TM; Pongquan
VL; Hwang WJ (January 2011). "Measuring
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stigma scale". Oncol Nurs Forum. 38 (1):
E4654. doi:10.1188/11.ONF.E46-E54.
PMC 3182474 . PMID 21186151.

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