Shame-proneness, guilt-proneness, and interpersonal problem solving: A social cognitive analysis

Research has found a negative relationship between proneness to experience shame and problematic relationships, but no relationship between proneness to guilt and relationship adjustment or maladjustment (Tangney, 1995; Tangney & Dearing, 2002). Social cognitive theory suggests that a reason for...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of social and clinical psychology 2003-02, Vol.22 (1), p.1-12
Main Authors: COVERT, Michelle Vowell, TANGNEY, June Price, MADDUX, James E, HELENO, Nancy M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Biological and medical sciences
Conflict
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Guilt
Honour and shame
Interpersonal problem solving
Interpersonal relations
Personal relationships
Problem solving
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Shame
Social attribution, perception and cognition
Social cognition
Social psychology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Research has found a negative relationship between proneness to experience shame and problematic relationships, but no relationship between proneness to guilt and relationship adjustment or maladjustment (Tangney, 1995; Tangney & Dearing, 2002). Social cognitive theory suggests that a reason for the interpersonal problem of shame-prone people is that shame impairs people's ability to generate effective solutions to interpersonal problems and/or diminishes confidence (self-efficacy) in one's ability to implement those solutions. In a study of 233 undergraduates, shame-proneness was negatively correlated with the quality of self-generated solutions to common interpersonal problems, self-efficacy for implementing these solutions, and with the expected effectiveness of those solutions. Guilt-proneness was positively correlated with quality of solutions, self-efficacy for implementing the solutions, the expected effectiveness of the solutions, and with the desire to solve the interpersonal conflict. Findings support and extend previous findings on shame-proneness, guilt-proneness, and interpersonal effectiveness.
ISSN:0736-7236
1943-2771
DOI:10.1521/jscp.22.1.1.22765