SHAME AND GUILT IN RELATION TO INTERDEPENDENCE

Abstract

Most Western theorists agree that shame involves a sense that the entire self is bad while guilt involves a focus on specific misdeeds (Lewis, 1971). ln light of emotion theorists' claims that culture shapes emotions experiences (Wallbott & Scherer, 1995), we would like to examine the relevance of Lewis' concept of shame and guilt to our collectivist culture. Our study shows that guilt proneness is positively related to different measures of interdependence, namely, "concern with other's evaluation" and both institutional and affective interdependence. This suggests that collectivistic cultures are not just "shame cultures" (Benedict, 1946) but "guilt cultures" as well. In contrast, shame proneness is unrelated to all measures of interdependence. In view of this, we propose an interdependent concept of shame.