The biological evolution of guilt, shame and anxiety: A new theory of negative legacy emotions

Breggin, Peter R.

doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2015.03.015

Cited by 16 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…However, that does not necessarily mean that it is expressed in exactly the same way nor in the exact same situations. According to Breggin (2015) and Ayvalıog ˘lu (1989) personal choices and cultural values steer our reactions and receptiveness to basic evolutionary emotions and social instincts. Additionally, studies by Neff (2003) have shown differences among individuals and subpopulations based on their life experiences and their practice of self-compassion (Neff, 2003;Neff & Pommier, 2013).…”

Section: Cultural Differences In Compassionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-cultural comparison of compassion: An in-depth analysis of cultural differences in compassion using the Compassion of Others’ Lives (COOL) Scale.

Chang¹,

Detrick²,

Maas³

et al. 2021

The Humanistic Psychologist

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Section: Cultural Differences In Compassionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-cultural comparison of compassion: An in-depth analysis of cultural differences in compassion using the Compassion of Others’ Lives (COOL) Scale.

Chang¹,

Detrick²,

Maas³

et al. 2021

The Humanistic Psychologist

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“…From an evolutionary point of view, shame, along with guilt and anxiety, is part of the emotional inhibitory family: their role is to reduce conflicts within the community and therefore to facilitate survival (Breggin, 2015). Fessler (2004) mentions another explanation: if a shameful situation becomes publicly known, the individual's interpersonal relationships are degraded and, thus, the chances of reproduction are limited.…”

Section: Shamementioning

confidence: 99%

To Speak or Not to Speak in Public: A Non-Randomized Controlled Trial Regarding the Effects of a Public Speaking Program

Beligeanu¹

2021

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Public speaking has become an increasingly sought-after skill, which is why more and more people choose to get professionally trained. But is it possible for a public speaking program to have other effects, in addition to improved performance? The aim of this study is to discover the effects of a public speaking program on reducing social anxiety, public speaking anxiety and shame, and also on increasing self-efficacy. The sample (high-school and university students) consisted of 164 participants aged between 15 and 47 years, M = 19.93, SD = 4.70. There were 82 participants in the experimental group and 82 participants in the control group, and the instruments used were: Liebowitz's Scale for Social Anxiety (Liebowitz, 1987), Personal Report on Public Speaking Anxiety (McCroskey, 1970), General scale of self-efficacy (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995), Cognitive Schema Questionnaire (Young, 2005). A test-retest design was approached, the participants completing the questionnaires one week apart from the others. The results indicate that a public speaking program is useful for reducing social anxiety and public speaking anxiety, with significant differences between the experimental and control groups. However, in terms of self-efficacy and shame, the results were not conclusive. Thus, even if there has been a decrease in shame and an increase in self-efficacy, it is not clear whether these changes can be attributed to the proposed program. This study can serve as the beginning of a program that can contribute to reducing the level of social anxiety and public speaking anxiety..

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“…Guilt and shame are classified as negative legacy emotions, i.e., emotions that restrain the individual from performing specific actions or express certain emotions or thoughts (Breggin, 2015). Guilt and shame are considered self-conscious emotions, i.e., emotions that require selfawareness and self-representation.…”

Section: Guilt and Shame Pronenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who wants to wash away their sins? Guilt and shame proneness and behavioral moral cleansing endorsement: a pilot study

Maftei

Merlici

2021

BRAIN

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In our pilot cross-sectional study, we aimed to explore the associations between guilt and shame proneness and moral cleansing endorsement. Our sample consisted of 484 adults (73.3% females), aged 18 and 53 (M=24.09, SD=7.32). We used a novel approach to explore moral cleansing mechanisms, i.e., a two-item scale assessing behavioral cleansing endorsement (one's agreement with the idea that people must "wash away" their immoral acts by acting in ethical ways that would "clean" their moral debt). In addition to the significant associations that we found between moral cleansing endorsement and the guilt and shame proneness dimensions (i.e., negative behavior evaluation, repair action tendencies, negative self-evaluation, and withdrawal action tendencies), results also suggested that moral cleansing endorsement was significantly predicted by overall guilt and shame proneness. More specifically, we found that higher levels of guilt and shame proneness might account for higher moral cleansing endorsement levels. We also found important associations with participants' age: our findings suggested that the higher the age, the higher the endorsement for moral actions aimed to "clean" immoral deeds. Results are discussed in relation to cultural-related factors.

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The biological evolution of guilt, shame and anxiety: A new theory of negative legacy emotions

Cited by 16 publications

References 5 publications

Cross-cultural comparison of compassion: An in-depth analysis of cultural differences in compassion using the Compassion of Others’ Lives (COOL) Scale.

Cross-cultural comparison of compassion: An in-depth analysis of cultural differences in compassion using the Compassion of Others’ Lives (COOL) Scale.

To Speak or Not to Speak in Public: A Non-Randomized Controlled Trial Regarding the Effects of a Public Speaking Program

Who wants to wash away their sins? Guilt and shame proneness and behavioral moral cleansing endorsement: a pilot study

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