Guilt, Shame, and Psychopathology in Children and Adolescents

The self-conscious emotions of guilt and shame are typically experienced in situations in which some moral standard is violated and this transgression is visible to other people [1]. While guilt and shame share similar features, evidence has accumulated indicating that both emotions also show some critical differences. That is, whereas guilt is concerned with a negative evaluation of a specific behavior (“I did that wrong”), shame pertains to a negative evaluation of the global self (“I did that wrong”). Thus, in guilt the person is feeling regret and remorse over the bad thing done, wishing that he had behaved differently, and thinking of how he could undo the harm. In contrast, shame is typically characterized by a feeling of inferiority and worthlessness, leading to a desire to escape or to disappear [1, 2]. These differences also become manifest in the functionality of both emotions: guilt motivates reparative behavior by making apologies and engaging in attempts to fix the situation, while shame motivates defensive and avoidance behavior, possibly serving as an innate mechanism of communicating submission [3]. …