Chapter 26 :Cultural differences in the meaning of guilt and shame

Authors : M. Silfver-Kuhalampi, J. R. J. Fontaine, L. Dillen & K. R. Scherer

Abstract : Guilt and shame have been conceptualized in several different ways in the psychological and anthropological literature. This study aims to clarify, whether the meaning of the terms guilt and shame differs systematically as a function of cultural-level characteristics. We found that guilt and shame terms are differentiated in very comparable ways across cultural and linguistic groups, with guilt being characterized by a concern for others and a tendency to set things right, and shame being characterized by a tendency to feel exposed and

willingness to withdraw from the social situation. We also found some small cultural differences. However, against the prominent view in the literature, these differences were not related to the collectivism-individualism dimension, but instead to uncertainty avoidance and especially to power distance.

Keywords : guilt shame cultural differences