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Does shame bring out the worst in narcissists? On moral emotions and immoral behaviors

Does shame bring out the worst in narcissists? On moral emotions and immoral behaviors
Does shame bring out the worst in narcissists? On moral emotions and immoral behaviors
Generations of psychologists, philosophers, anthropologists, and lay-persons have viewed shame, alongside with guilt, as a quintessent moral emotion (e.g., Darwin, 1872; Emde & Oppenheim, 1995; Spiecker, 1991; Williams, 1993). As Gaylin (1979, p. 76) so eloquently wrote, “shame and guilt are noble emotions essential in the maintenance of civilized society, and vital for the development of some of the most refined and elegant qualities of human potential”. Applied and practical efforts have also focused on shame and guilt as joint causes of virtuous behaviour. For example, the main goal of the increasingly popular notion of “reintegrative shaming” in the so-called restorative justice conferences (where stakeholders of a delinquent act convene to confront the offender with the consequences of his/her act) is to instil a sense of shame or guilt in the offender in order to inhibit future misbehaviour (Braithwaite, 1989; Retzinger & Scheff, 1996). Likewise, most readers will remember the “shaming corner” as the place they feared to be directed to after having committed a “moral wrong” in their elementary school classroom (Maxwell & Reichenbach, 2005).
1841697427
221-236
Psychology Press
Thomaes, S.
ec762bc3-0df4-42c3-99f4-1a7b65f55053
Stegge, H.
6f7cc6f2-eb41-4f34-abc9-d9ad8f01b950
Olthof, T.
023cbfa0-d3f6-4eb8-92a1-3e1e673c18ad
Koops, Willem
Brugman, Daniel
Ferguson, Tamara J.
Sanders, Andries F.
Thomaes, S.
ec762bc3-0df4-42c3-99f4-1a7b65f55053
Stegge, H.
6f7cc6f2-eb41-4f34-abc9-d9ad8f01b950
Olthof, T.
023cbfa0-d3f6-4eb8-92a1-3e1e673c18ad
Koops, Willem
Brugman, Daniel
Ferguson, Tamara J.
Sanders, Andries F.

Thomaes, S., Stegge, H. and Olthof, T. (2012) Does shame bring out the worst in narcissists? On moral emotions and immoral behaviors. In, Koops, Willem, Brugman, Daniel, Ferguson, Tamara J. and Sanders, Andries F. (eds.) The Development and Structure of Conscience. Hove, GB. Psychology Press, pp. 221-236. (doi:10.4324/9780203869215).

Record type: Book Section

Abstract

Generations of psychologists, philosophers, anthropologists, and lay-persons have viewed shame, alongside with guilt, as a quintessent moral emotion (e.g., Darwin, 1872; Emde & Oppenheim, 1995; Spiecker, 1991; Williams, 1993). As Gaylin (1979, p. 76) so eloquently wrote, “shame and guilt are noble emotions essential in the maintenance of civilized society, and vital for the development of some of the most refined and elegant qualities of human potential”. Applied and practical efforts have also focused on shame and guilt as joint causes of virtuous behaviour. For example, the main goal of the increasingly popular notion of “reintegrative shaming” in the so-called restorative justice conferences (where stakeholders of a delinquent act convene to confront the offender with the consequences of his/her act) is to instil a sense of shame or guilt in the offender in order to inhibit future misbehaviour (Braithwaite, 1989; Retzinger & Scheff, 1996). Likewise, most readers will remember the “shaming corner” as the place they feared to be directed to after having committed a “moral wrong” in their elementary school classroom (Maxwell & Reichenbach, 2005).

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e-pub ahead of print date: 30 September 2009
Published date: 12 October 2012
Organisations: Psychology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 349354
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/349354
ISBN: 1841697427
PURE UUID: 49c34604-fba1-4228-81ee-9f8a63b2f7c4

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Date deposited: 28 Feb 2013 15:42
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 13:11

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Contributors

Author: S. Thomaes
Author: H. Stegge
Author: T. Olthof
Editor: Willem Koops
Editor: Daniel Brugman
Editor: Tamara J. Ferguson
Editor: Andries F. Sanders

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