The DOI matches its Crossref record; 2 of the 2 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Are shame, guilt, and embarrassment distinct emotions?
Abstract
182 undergraduates described personal embarrassment, shame, and guilt experiences and rated these experiences on structural and phenomenological dimensions. Contrary to popular belief, shame was no more likely than guilt to be experienced in "public" situations; all 3 emotions typically occurred in social contexts, but a significant proportion of shame and guilt events occurred when respondents were alone. Analyses of participants' phenomenological ratings clearly demonstrated that shame, guilt, and embarrassment are not merely different terms for the same affective experience. In particular, embarrassment was a relatively distant neighbor of shame and guilt, and the differences among the 3 could not be explained simply by intensity of affect or by degree of moral transgression. Finally, participants generally were their own harshest critics in each type of event, evaluating themselves more negatively than they believed others did.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Shame is closely related to guilt, but can be differentiated from it. In guilt, focus is typically on the person who was transgressed or the relationship that was affected, rather than the self (Tangney et al., 1996). Guilt pushes us out into the world, in an attempt to activate efforts to repair the damage by either reparative action or punishment (Tangney et al., 1996). In contrast, shame”
From Is Shame Hallucinogenic? (2017) · cites this paper as Tangney et al., 1996
In the citing paper
“It is therefore unsurprising that shame is associated with a desire to hide (Tangney et al., 1996).”
From Is Shame Hallucinogenic? (2017) · cites this paper as Tangney et al., 1996
Citations
Cites
The publisher hasn’t deposited this paper’s reference list.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 301–400 of 1,002
The phenomenology of shame in the clinical encounter
Dolezal, L. (2015) · Medicine Health Care and Philosophy · doi:10.1007/s11019-015-9654-5 · Cited by 68
Problematic social emotions: Shame, guilt, jealousy, and envy.
Tangney, J. P., & Salovey, P. (2004) · American Psychological Association eBooks · doi:10.1037/10320-006 · Cited by 68
Self-citationQuitting When the Going Gets Tough: A Downside of High Performance Expectations
Dai, H., Dietvorst, B. J., Tuckfield, B., Milkman, K. L., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2017) · Academy of Management Journal · doi:10.5465/amj.2014.1045 · Cited by 69
(Im)moral Support: The Social Outcomes of Parallel Self-Control Decisions
Lowe, M. L., & Haws, K. L. (2014) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/676688 · Cited by 69
Fairness perceptions and prosocial emotions in the power to take
Reuben, E., & van Winden, F. A. A. M. (2010) · Journal of Economic Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.joep.2010.08.001 · Cited by 67
Reintegrative Shaming, Shame, and Criminal Justice
Harris, N. (2006) · Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2006.00453.x · Cited by 67
Bye, A., Shawe, J., Bick, D., Easter, A., Kash-Macdonald, M., & Micali, N. (2018) · BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth · doi:10.1186/s12884-018-1745-x · Cited by 77
Rosenthal, S., & Ho, K. L. (2020) · Journal of Environmental Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101439 · Cited by 70
Castonguay, A., Gilchrist, J., Mack, D., & Sabiston, C. (2013) · Body image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2013.03.001 · Cited by 66
Behavioural consequences of regret and disappointment in social bargaining games
Martinez, L. F., Zeelenberg, M., & Rijsman, J. B. (2010) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2010.485889 · Cited by 66
The Positive Side of Negative Emotion
Behrendt, H., & Ben‐Ari, R. (2012) · Journal of Conflict Resolution · doi:10.1177/0022002712445746 · Cited by 66
Self-conscious emotions as dynamic cultural processes
Mesquita, B., & Karasawa, M. (2004) · Lirias · Cited by 66
Kang, E. Y., & Sung, Y. H. (2021) · Journal of Marketing Communications · doi:10.1080/13527266.2021.1874482 · Cited by 74
Mandel, D. R., & Dhami, M. K. (2005) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2004.08.009 · Cited by 65
Alcohol use disorder in women: Risks and consequences of an adolescent onset and persistent course.
Foster, K. T., Hicks, B. M., Iacono, W. G., & McGue, M. (2014) · Psychology of Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1037/a0035488 · Cited by 72
The Emotional Underpinnings of Social Status
Steckler, C. M., & Tracy, J. L. (2014) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-0867-7_10 · Cited by 68
From Self-awareness to Shame-proneness: Evidence of Causal Sequence Among Women
Arndt, J., & Goldenberg, J. L. (2004) · Self and Identity · doi:10.1080/13576500342000022 · Cited by 65
Clegg, J. W. (2012) · Qualitative Research in Psychology · doi:10.1080/14780887.2010.500357 · Cited by 65
Parental shame and guilt: Distinguishing emotional responses to a child's wrongdoings
Scarnier, M., Schmader, T., & Lickel, B. A. (2009) · Personal Relationships · doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2009.01219.x · Cited by 64
Shame, Rumination, and Self-Compassion in Men Assessed for Hypersexual Disorder
Reid, R. C., Temko, J. E., Moghaddam, J. F., & FONG, T. W. (2014) · Journal of Psychiatric Practice · doi:10.1097/01.pra.0000452562.98286.c5 · Cited by 64
Do body-related shame and guilt mediate the association between weight status and self-esteem?
Pila, E., Sabiston, C. M., Brunet, J., Castonguay, A. L., & O’Loughlin, J. L. (2015) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/1359105315573449 · Cited by 63
A Multi-Functional View of Moral Disengagement: Exploring the Effects of Learning the Consequences
Tillman, C. J., Gonzalez, K., Whitman, M. V., Crawford, W. S., & Hood, A. C. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02286 · Cited by 65
Adaptationism Carves Emotions at Their Functional Joints
Sznycer, D., Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. (2017) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1080/1047840x.2017.1256132 · Cited by 62
Yoon, H. J. (2015) · Journal of Advertising · doi:10.1080/00913367.2015.1018463 · Cited by 64
Shame aversion and shame-proneness in Cluster C personality disorders.
Schoenleber, M. L., & Berenbaum, H. (2010) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0017982 · Cited by 63
Self-discrepancies: measurement and relation to various negative affective states
Ozgul, S., Heubeck, B. G., Ward, J., & Wilkinson, R. B. (2003) · Australian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1080/00049530412331312884 · Cited by 63
The effects of stigma on genital herpes care-seeking behaviours.
Fortenberry, J. D. (2004) · PubMed · Cited by 63
The Unwanted Exposure of the Self: A Phenomenological Study of Embarrassment.
Robbins, B. D., & Parlavecchio, H. (2006) · The Humanistic Psychologist · doi:10.1207/s15473333thp3404_3 · Cited by 67
Moral and angry emotions provoked by informal social control
Nugier, A., Niedenthal, P. M., Bräuer, M., & Chekroun, P. (2007) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699930601124738 · Cited by 61
Moving beyond “shame is bad”: How a functional emotion can become problematic
Cibich, M., Woodyatt, L., & Wenzel, M. (2016) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/spc3.12263 · Cited by 70
Moral Utility Theory: Understanding the motivation to behave (un)ethically
Hirsh, J. B., Lu, J. G., & Galinsky, A. D. (2018) · Research in Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.riob.2018.10.002 · Cited by 67
Emotions and actions associated with norm-breaking events
Wilson, D. S., & O’Gorman, R. (2003) · Human Nature · doi:10.1007/s12110-003-1007-z · Cited by 62
Intrapersonal characteristics of body-related guilt, shame, pride, and envy in Canadian adults
Pila, E., Brunet, J., Crocker, P. R. E., Kowalski, K. C., & Sabiston, C. M. (2016) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.01.001 · Cited by 71
Pride in my past: Influencing sustainable choices through behavioral recall
Rowe, Z. O., Wilson, H., Dimitriu, R., Charnley, F., & Lastrucci, G. (2019) · Psychology and Marketing · doi:10.1002/mar.21178 · Cited by 65
Emotional agency appraisals influence responses to preference inconsistent information
Agrawal, N., Han, D., & Duhachek, A. (2012) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2012.10.001 · Cited by 59
The immorality of illegal downloading: The role of anticipated guilt and general emotions
Wang, X., & McClung, S. R. (2011) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2011.08.021 · Cited by 59
PATIENT EXPERIENCE WITH A URODYNAMIC STUDY: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY IN 208 PATIENTS
KU, J. A. H., Kim, S. W., Kim, H. H., Paick, J., Son, H., & Oh, S. (2004) · The Journal of Urology · doi:10.1097/01.ju.0000125144.82338.0c · Cited by 59
Consedine, N. S., Ladwig, I., Reddig, M. K., & Broadbent, E. (2010) · British Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1348/135910710x530942 · Cited by 59
Ogunfowora, B., Weinhardt, J. M., & Hwang, C. C. H. (2019) · Journal of Management · doi:10.1177/0149206319862024 · Cited by 60
Liao, Z., Yam, K. C., Lee, H. W., Johnson, R. E., & Tang, P. M. (2023) · Journal of Management · doi:10.1177/01492063231154845 · Cited by 62
Turning shame into creativity: The importance of exposure to creative team environments
González‐Gómez, H. V., & Richter, A. W. (2014) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2014.09.004 · Cited by 58
Why Narcissists Are Unwilling to Apologize: The Role of Empathy and Guilt
Leunissen, J. M., Sedikides, C., & Wildschut, T. (2017) · European Journal of Personality · doi:10.1002/per.2110 · Cited by 60
Shame, embarrassment and guilt: Corpus evidence for the cross-cultural structure of social emotions
Krawczak, K. (2014) · Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics · doi:10.1515/psicl-2014-0023 · Cited by 57
Schmader, T., Block, K., & Lickel, B. A. (2015) · Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1111/josi.12096 · Cited by 57
Introducing an instrument to measure body and fitness-related self-conscious emotions: The BSE-FIT
Castonguay, A. L., Sabiston, C. M., Kowalski, K. C., & Wilson, P. M. (2015) · Psychology of sport and exercise · doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2015.10.003 · Cited by 57
Gausel, N., & Brown, R. J. (2012) · The Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/00224545.2012.657265 · Cited by 54
Rees, J. H., Allpress, J. A., & Brown, R. J. (2013) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.12003 · Cited by 56
Fernández, S., Saguy, T., & Halperin, E. (2015) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167215586195 · Cited by 63
Welten, S. C. M., Zeelenberg, M., & Breugelmans, S. M. (2012) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2011.625400 · Cited by 56
Emotions in social anxiety disorder: A review
Rozen, N., & Aderka, I. M. (2023) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2023.102696 · Cited by 54
When feeling bad makes you look good: Guilt, shame, and person perception
Stearns, D. C., & Parrott, W. G. (2012) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2012.675879 · Cited by 55
Self-conscious emotions: Where self and emotion meet.
Tracy, J. L., & Robins, R. W. (2007) · Cited by 52
Applying the dominance hierarchy model to pride and shame, and related behaviors
Weisfeld, G. E., & Dillon, L. M. (2012) · Journal of Evolutionary Psychology · doi:10.1556/jep.10.2012.1.2 · Cited by 54
Pulcu, E., Zahn, R., & Elliott, R. (2013) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00310 · Cited by 61
The Exposed Self: A Multilevel Model of Shame and Ethical Behavior
Murphy, S. A., & Kiffin‐Petersen, S. (2016) · Journal of Business Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10551-016-3185-8 · Cited by 62
Body-related embarrassment: The overlooked self-conscious emotion.
Vani, M., Pila, E., Willson, E., & Sabiston, C. (2019) · Body image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.10.007 · Cited by 45
Conviction, Persuasion, and Argumentation: Untangling the Ends and Means of Influence
O’Keefe, D. J. (2011) · Argumentation · doi:10.1007/s10503-011-9242-7 · Cited by 53
Aguayo, V. M., Badgaiyan, N., & Paintal, K. (2014) · Maternal and Child Nutrition · doi:10.1111/mcn.12168 · Cited by 53
Attributed causes for work–family conflict: Emotional and behavioral outcomes
Ilieș, R., de Pater, I. E., Lim, S., & Binnewies, C. (2012) · Organizational Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/2041386612452288 · Cited by 55
Ding, W., Xie, R., Sun, B., Li, W., Wang, D., & Zhen, R. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01317 · Cited by 53
Leki, E. L., & Wilkowski, B. M. (2017) · Motivation and Emotion · doi:10.1007/s11031-017-9637-3 · Cited by 53
The psychological consequence of experiencing shame: Self-sufficiency and mood-repair
Chao, Y.-H., Cheng, Y., & Chiou, W. (2011) · Motivation and Emotion · doi:10.1007/s11031-011-9208-y · Cited by 52
Conflict and trust: the mediating effects of emotional arousal and self‐conscious emotions
Chen, M. J., & Ayoko, O. B. (2012) · International Journal of Conflict Management · doi:10.1108/10444061211199313 · Cited by 54
Investigating consumer embarrassment in service interactions
Wu, L., & Mattila, A. S. (2012) · International Journal of Hospitality Management · doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2012.08.003 · Cited by 55
Dong, P., Huang, X., & Wyer, R. S. (2013) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797613482946 · Cited by 52
A Comparison of the Social-Adaptive Perspective and Functionalist Perspective on Guilt and Shame
Dempsey, H. L. (2017) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs7040083 · Cited by 68
Newman, K. P., & Brucks, M. L. (2018) · Journal of Consumer Psychology · doi:10.1002/jcpy.1027 · Cited by 57
Dionne, S. D., Gooty, J., Yammarino, F. J., & Sayama, H. (2018) · Organizational Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/2041386618756063 · Cited by 56
Shame and Guilt in Child Sexual Offenders
Proeve, M. J., & Howells, K. (2002) · International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology · doi:10.1177/0306624x02238160 · Cited by 52
Sabiston, C. M., Doré, I., Lucibello, K. M., Pila, E., Brunet, J., Thibault, V., & Bélanger, M. F. (2022) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115543 · Cited by 58
Leaf Van Boven, A., Loewenstein, G. F., Welch, E. J., & Dunning, D. A. (2010) · Journal of Behavioral Decision Making · doi:10.1002/bdm.706 · Cited by 53
Borderline personality disorder and self-conscious affect: Too much shame but not enough guilt?
Peters, J. R., & Geiger, P. J. (2016) · Personality Disorders Theory Research and Treatment · doi:10.1037/per0000176 · Cited by 51
Qiu, W., Clegg, J. L., Mattos, H. G.-D., & Buckley, P. J. (2018) · Journal of World Business · doi:10.1016/j.jwb.2018.11.003 · Cited by 65
On the Behavioral Economics of Crime
van Winden, F., & Ash, E. (2012) · Review of Law & Economics · doi:10.1515/1555-5879.1591 · Cited by 54
The consequences of customer-oriented constructive deviance in luxury-hotel restaurants
Gong, T., Wang, C., & Lee, K. (2020) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102254 · Cited by 54
Braddock, K. H. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108584517 · Cited by 61
COMMENTARIES on "Putting the Self Into Self-Conscious Emotions: A Theoretical Model"
(2004) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1207/s15327965pli1502_02 · Cited by 55
Can emotions influence level-1 visual perspective taking?
Bukowski, H., & Samson, D. (2015) · Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1080/17588928.2015.1043879 · Cited by 48
Reappraising the Moral Nature of Emotions in Decision Making: The Case of Shame and Guilt
Nelissen, R. M. A., Breugelmans, S. M., & Zeelenberg, M. (2013) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/spc3.12030 · Cited by 54
The Effectiveness of Guilt and Shame Ad Appeals in Social Marketing: The Role of Regulatory Focus
Pounders, K. R., Lee, S., & Stafford, M. R. (2017) · Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising · doi:10.1080/10641734.2017.1372322 · Cited by 50
Zubair, M., Iqbal, S., Usman, S. M., Awais, M., Wang, R., & Wang, X. (2020) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-020-75343-8 · Cited by 57
Financial shame spirals: How shame intensifies financial hardship
Gladstone, J. J., Jachimowicz, J., Greenberg, A. E., & Galinsky, A. D. (2021) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2021.06.002 · Cited by 54
A review of PTSD and shame in military veterans
Gaudet, C. M., Sowers, K. M., Nugent, W. R., & Boriskin, J. A. (2015) · Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment · doi:10.1080/10911359.2015.1059168 · Cited by 59
Robertson, J., & Long, B. (2019) · Journal of Emergency Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.jemermed.2019.06.034 · Cited by 47
Feeling shame and guilt when observing workplace incivility: Elicitors and behavioral responses
Miranda, G. A., Welbourne, J. L., & Sariol, A. M. (2020) · Human Resource Development Quarterly · doi:10.1002/hrdq.21395 · Cited by 54
Shame in Borderline Personality Disorder: Meta-Analysis
Buchman-Wildbaum, T., Unoka, Z., Dudas, R. B., Vizin, G., Demetrovics, Z., & Richman, M. J. (2021) · Journal of Personality Disorders · doi:10.1521/pedi_2021_35_515 · Cited by 47
Bruno, S., Lutwak, N., & Agin, M. A. (2009) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2009.04.023 · Cited by 47
Exploring the role of self- and customer-provoked embarrassment in personal selling
Verbeke, W., & Bagozzi, R. P. (2003) · International Journal of Research in Marketing · doi:10.1016/s0167-8116(03)00035-1 · Cited by 47
How awkward! Social anxiety and the perceived consequences of social blunders
Moscovitch, D. A., Rodebaugh, T. L., & Hesch, B. D. (2011) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2011.11.002 · Cited by 46
Olatunji, B. O., Cox, R. C., & Kim, E. H. (2015) · Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1521/jscp.2015.34.3.239 · Cited by 49
An Introduction to the Value of Shame—Exploring a Health Resource in Cultural Contexts
Vanderheiden, E., & Mayer, C. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-53100-7_1 · Cited by 47
Appreciating Anonymity: An Exploration of Embarrassing Products and the Power of Blending In
Jones, C. L. E., Barney, C., & Farmer, A. (2018) · Journal of Retailing · doi:10.1016/j.jretai.2018.01.001 · Cited by 46
TARGET ARTICLE: Why Emotion Names and Experiences Don't Neatly Pair
Sabini, J. P., & Silver, M. (2005) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1207/s15327965pli1601_01 · Cited by 49
The role of emotions in employees' explanations for failure in the workplace
Hareli, S., Shomrat, N., & Biger, N. (2005) · Journal of Managerial Psychology · doi:10.1108/02683940510631435 · Cited by 45
Managing shame: An interpersonal perspective
Leeming, D., & Boyle, M. (2011) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8309.2011.02061.x · Cited by 45
Distinguishing Intrapsychic From Interpersonal Motives in Psychological Theory and Research
Leary, M. R., Raimi, K. T., Jongman-Sereno, K. P., & Diebels, K. J. (2015) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691615583132 · Cited by 53
Choi, J., & Seo, S. (2016) · International Journal of Hospitality Management · doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2016.09.014 · Cited by 49
Stets, J. E. (2007) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-0-387-30715-2_10 · Cited by 45
Lattanner, M. R., & Hatzenbuehler, M. L. (2022) · Journal of Social Issues · doi:10.1111/josi.12564 · Cited by 50
Carbon footprint tracking apps. Does feedback help reduce carbon emissions?
Hoffmann, S., Lasarov, W., Reimers, H., & Trabandt, M. (2023) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139981 · Cited by 50
Metadata
- Authors
- Tangney, J. P., Miller, R. S., Flicker, L., & Barlow, D. H.
- Affiliations
- George Mason University (US)
- ORCID
- Tangney, June Price
- Venue
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Published
- 1996
- Volume
- 70
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 1256-1269
- ISSN
- 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1315
- OpenAlex
- W4241650702
- Cited by
- 1,556
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 83 · 2025: 82 · 2024: 77 · 2023: 77 · 2022: 87 · 2021: 87 · 2020: 101 · 2019: 74 · 2018: 74 · 2017: 88 · 2016: 60 · 2015: 77 · 2014: 80 · 2013: 71 · 2012: 59
- FWCI
- 13.82
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Forgiveness and Related Behaviors
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Keywords
- shame, guilt, embarrassment, emotion taxonomy
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Emotions, Female, Guilt, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Shame, Social Behavior, Social Environment
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review