A Multidimensional Approach to the Relationship Between Individualism-Collectivism and Guilt and Shame

Guilt and shame proneness are commonly thought to be associated with culture, yet research on this relationship is fragmented and often inconsistent. In a review of the existing social scientific literature, we demonstrate that no consistent relationship between guilt and shame, on the one hand, and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Emotion (Washington, D.C.) D.C.), 2021-02, Vol.21 (1), p.108-122
Main Authors: Young, Isaac F., Razavi, Pooya, Cohen, Taya R., Yang, Qian, Alabèrnia-Segura, Miquel, Sullivan, Daniel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Collectivism
Competition
Cross Cultural Differences
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Guilt
Human
Humans
Individualism
Individuality
Interpersonal Control
Interpersonal Relationships
Male
Shame
Social Behavior
Social Status
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Summary:Guilt and shame proneness are commonly thought to be associated with culture, yet research on this relationship is fragmented and often inconsistent. In a review of the existing social scientific literature, we demonstrate that no consistent relationship between guilt and shame, on the one hand, and individualism and collectivism, on the other, has yet been established. To move this research area forward, we apply a new 2-dimensional, quaternary perspective to both guilt/shame and cultural orientation. Specifically, both evaluative and behavioral dimensions of guilt and shame are considered using the Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale (GASP; Cohen, Wolf, Panter, & Insko, 2011), as well as the degree of hierarchy (i.e., horizontality-verticality) in individuals' cultural orientation (Triandis & Gelfand, 1998). A study of individuals from 5 countries (United States, India, China, Iran, and Spain; total N = 1,466) confirmed our hypotheses that individuals culturally socialized to be more interpersonally oriented (i.e., horizontal collectivism) are more motivated to engage in reparative action following transgressions, whereas those culturally socialized to be more attuned to power, status, and competition (i.e., vertical individualism) are more likely to withdraw from threatening interpersonal situations, and that these relationships are stronger than corresponding relationships with guilt- and shame-related evaluations. In addition to supporting these hypotheses, our data also provide the first cross-cultural evidence regarding the invariance of the GASP.
ISSN:1528-3542
1931-1516
DOI:10.1037/emo0000689