Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants
Title
I feel guilty, but we feel shame: Self-construal differences in reactions to transgressions
Department
Psychology Department
College
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Date Range
2013-2014
Disciplines
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
Prevailing models of guilt (vs. shame) characterize these emotions as resulting from a situational/behavioral (vs. dispositional) focus and negative personal (vs. social) evaluations of ones transgressions, respectively (Tangney, Stuewig & Mashek, 2007). Given cultural differences in self-construals (Markus & Kitayama, 1991), and related work on attribution (Kuhnen et al., 2013) and attitudinal vs. normative bases for behavior (Ybarra & Trafimow, 1998), we conducted two studies to examine whether independent (vs. interdependent) self-construals elicit stronger guilt (vs. shame) responses after transgressing. Using conventional methods, self-construals were measured (Study 1) and manipulated (Study 2). Guilt and shame were assessed via scenarios where the participant imagined harming a close other or group (relational/collective transgression) or themselves (intrapersonal transgression). Across both studies, independent self-construals were associated with more guilt and less shame for interpersonal scenarios, whereas interdependent self-construals were associated with more shame for both interpersonal and intrapersonal transgressions.
Conference Name
15th Annual Society for Personality and Social Psychology Conference
Conference Location
Austin, TX
ScholarWorks Citation
Dean, Kristy and Fles, Elizabeth, "I feel guilty, but we feel shame: Self-construal differences in reactions to transgressions" (2014). Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants. 934.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/fsdg/934
