Two Faces of Group-Based Shame: Moral Shame and Image Shame Differentially Predict Positive and Negative Orientations to Ingroup Wrongdoing

This article proposes distinctions between guilt and two forms of shame: guilt arises from a violated norm and is characterized by a focus on specific behavior; shame can be characterized by a threatened social image (image shame) or a threatened moral essence (moral shame). applying this analysis to group-based emotions,three correlational studies are reported,set in the context of atrocities committed by (british) ingroup members during the iraq war (ns = 147,256,399). results showed that the two forms of shame could be distinguished. moreover,once the other form of shame was controlled for,they were differentially related to orientations toward the outgroup: image shame was associated with negative orientations,whereas moral shame had associations with positive outgroup orientations. these associations were distinct from the associations of guilt and rejection. study 3 used a longitudinal design and provided evidence suggestive of a causal direction from emotions to outgroup orientation. © 2014 by the society for personality and social psychology,inc.