Understanding Shame as an Obstacle: Toward a Global Perspective

In this paper, the authors suggest that shame is a barrier to many patients’ willingness to disclose their history of trauma to nurses and other members of the healthcare team and that the clinicians participate in this withholding of information because of their experience of vicarious shame. The authors propose that shame and vicarious shame reduce the accuracy of assessment, limit the nurse–patient relationship, and reduce the ability of the healthcare teams to accurately diagnose and treat patients. Shame as a barrier to trauma assessment is also considered in light of the Roy adaptation model and from a global perspective. Implications for education, research, and nursing practice are discussed.

Shame East and West: similarities, differences, culture, and self

Shame is an innate human affect and is also powerfully influenced by culture. This article compares and contrasts shame in China and in America. First, the physiology, development, and experience of shame are discussed. Then, a Western perspective (psychoanalytic object relations theory) is presented followed by a Chinese perspective (interdependent model). Shame in the two cultures is compared and contrasted and empirical research is also presented. The authors’ conclusions include the following: object relations theory is a useful perspective in understanding shame and the development of self in both cultures; shame is viewed more positively in China than in the US and is used more to motivate prosocial behaviour by families and authorities; Americans experience more helplessness and smallness when shamed; Chinese have more desire to repair and feel more responsible for the shameful incident; Chinese are more likely to feel vicarious shame or guilt when someone they are connected to commits a shameful act; Lewis’ American shame model effectively distinguishes shame from guilt for Americans but does not clearly differentiate the two for Chinese, while Xie’s Chinese self afflicted/other afflicted model does so. The article concludes with suggestions for future research and implications for clinical practice.

Does Watching This Make Me Feel Ashamed or Angry? An Examination of Latino Americans’ Responses to Immigration Coverage

Content analyses of U.S. English-language news coverage of immigration indicate that these stories are laden with negative, threatening messages and have an almost exclusive focus on Latino immigrants. However, little is known regarding how non-immigrant Latinos process and interpret these messages. The current survey of adult non-immigrant Latinos living in the United States addresses this question by applying insights from the rejection-identification model and research on vicarious shame. Based on this research, experiencing group shame in response to immigration news should drive Latinos to distance themselves from this identity, leading to greater affiliation with American identity (to maintain a positive self-concept) and stronger support for restrictive immigration policies (to mitigate the potential threats). Alternatively, experiencing anger in response to this coverage should result in less distancing from the shared Latino identity (i.e., greater affiliation), prompting decreased association with American identity and less support for restrictive immigration policies. Results from the mediation model tested here found support for predictions stemming from both vicarious shame and rejection-identification assumptions, indicating that they represent distinct pathways to views on immigration attitudes and identity management. Furthermore, in line with social identity theory, Mexican Americans (vs. non-Mexican Latinos) were more likely to distance from the immigration message and perceive immigration coverage to depict negative beliefs others hold about their ethnic group (owing to the disproportionate emphasis on Mexicans in this coverage). Results are discussed in terms of the implications for group standing as well as the importance of legitimacy of media messages in this context.

Shame and vicarious shame in the news: A case study of the Sewol ferry disaster

This study examines how shame, a psychological mechanism suppressing the violation of social norms, is reflected in the news. The results of a content analysis of the South Korean ferry disaster news stories demonstrate that shaming wrongdoers commonly appears in the news stories exposing wrongdoings. It is shown that the news media shame more often when the wrongdoings are confirmed, described in detail, their negative influences are mentioned, or punishment for them is expected. Anger against wrongdoers was the emotion most closely linked to shaming. Our results also demonstrate that shaming is more frequently activated in the Internet media. Especially, vicarious shame felt by some Koreans about other Koreans’ wrongdoings often showed up in the Korean news. Our results provide evidence that vicarious shame and its elements, like guilt, reappear intact in the news. Overall, we suggest that, through the functions of shame, wrongdoings are exposed; identity image of wrongdoers is degraded; lessons about norms are given; mediated scandals are mass-consumed; and, therefore, some of the ethical and commercial characteristics of the news are formed.

A Cross-Cultural Comparison of American and Japanese Experiences of Personal and Vicarious Shame

The purpose of this study was to examine cultural influences on shame. In particular, the focus was to assess the influence of the following factors on the object of shame (specifically, personal vs. vicarious shame): (1) the effect of individualism/collectivism, measured by a widely used standardized measurement; (2) the role of tightness/looseness (based on ecological factors); and (3) the patterns of within- and between-cultural differences and similarities. Data were collected from two American and two Japanese universities to test within- and between-cultural influences on the object of shame. Participants were asked to describe and rate three autobiographical experiences of shame, with each successive request being increasingly specific in asking for shame about something for which the participant did not feel responsible. Cultural differences in tightness and looseness, both within and between the two nations, were predictive of the likelihood that participants would report vicarious shame. In contrast, standard measures of individualism-collectivism did not predict these differences. These findings suggest that culture affects the object of shame. However, in contrast to our hypothesis, attitudinal measures of individualism/collectivism were not a significant predictor. Rather, tightness/looseness determined by ecological factors was the better predictor of some cultural differences on the object of shame. Furthermore, these findings imply that attitudinal measures of individualism/collectivism may not agree with ecological measures, and that including multiple samples from each language/nation effectively reduces the confound between culture and language.

Organized crime and group-based ideology: The association between masculine honor and collective opposition against criminal organizations

What is the role of culture in establishing young people’s pathways into gang membership? Italian criminal organizations (COs) exhibit adherence to codes of honor and masculinity, important values in the context where they originated. Here it is proposed that the embedding of these values at an individual level may lessen young people’s group-based opposition to such organizations, and indirectly, create a space in which such organizations can persist and recruit. In a study of young Southern Italians ( N = 176; Mage = 16.17), we found that those who endorsed ideological beliefs related to the honorableness of male violence reported lower intentions to engage in antimafia activities. Consistent with the hypothesized mechanisms, this relationship was mediated by more positive attitudes toward COs, and lower reported vicarious shame in relation to the activities of COs. Directions for future research and implications for research on gangs are discussed.