CCAP College 3 Flashcards
Moral Emotions and Aggression
most common moral emotions
guilt
pride
shame
embarrassment
what differs moral emotions from basic emotions?
moral emotions function WITHIN SOCIAL CONTEXT, based on NORMS AND VALUES
- they motivate to behave appropriately
- focus = self-evaluative
- contribute to social relationships and position within society
guilt
violation of a moral rule, which CAUSED HARM to another person
- other-focused
- very young children don’t distinguish between doing something by accident or on purpose; this later develops and becomes very important for guilt
guilt behaviors
primary function = repair
- self-punishment: in young children: if they break something of yours, they will break their own toy too
adaptive function of guilt: care for others (Leith & Baumeister, 1998)
guilt requires EMPATHY: you have to recognize the victim in the situation
- positive correlation between guilt and empathy
- guilt-prone people show more empathy and prosocial behaviors
empathy
understanding and sharing in another’s emotional state
victim blaming
why? to limit empathic feeling: effort to create distance between oneself and victim, because it’s frustrating when you can’t do anything
- ignoring/dismissing empathic feeling, when you’re trying to hold the others responsible for your own misdeed
proactive aggression
- instrumental
- personal gain
- no emotions
I want something, so I will do something to get it, like holding someone at gunpoint
reactive aggression
- defensive
- anger-evoked
- impulsive, hot-tempered
You get angry with me, so in return I will get angry back, like self-defense
characteristics psychopathy
- superficial charm
- pathological lying
- conning, manipulative
- lack of guilt and empathy (proactive aggression)
- failure to accept responsibility for own actions
The Roles of Shame and Guilt in the Development of Aggression in Adolescents With and Without Hearing Loss (Broekhof, Bos & Rieffe, 2021)
more guilt leads to:
-> less proactive aggression
-> less externalizing behaviors
-> less psychopathy
more shame leads to:
-> more reactive aggression
-> more externalizing behaviors
-> more anti-social behaviors (related to shame)
shame
transgression of moral/social standard, but NOT necessarily HARM
- feeling ostracized and unwanted
shame behavior
avoidant
- avoiding eye-contact, withdrawal, covering face
denial, nervous touching, smiling, blushing
adaptive function shame
- becoming a better person
- show you respect social hierarchy, norms and values
- signal to others; you wait until someone higher in society accepts you again
maladaptive: - too much; depression, self harm, aggression
- too little: careless, psychopathy
Moral Emotions and Moral Behavior (Tangney, Stuewig & Mashek, 2007)
shame leads to more:
-> low self-esteem, depression and anxiety
-> but also: other-blame, anger and aggression
main differences shame and guilt
shame vs. guilt
- self-focused vs. other-focused
- criticize self vs. criticize behavior
- painful, shrinking, worthless vs. less painful, tense, regret
- escape vs. repair
- reactive aggression vs. proactive aggression
ethnocentrism
own culture is superior
absolutism
equal across cultures
relativism
within each culture; to understand a certain culture, you can only look from within that culture (comparison near impossible)
universalism
universal, BUT culture affects development and display
indivualism vs. collectivism
individualism vs. collectivism
- concern for self vs. concern for others
- indiv. needs and goals vs. traditions, values
- autonomy of self vs. commitment social group
- more in western countries vs. more in asian and former communist countries
- prefer competition vs. prefer harmony
individualistic cultures are more guilt-prone
- responsiblity is more often attributed to one person in individualistic cultures, while in collectivistic cultures it is attributed to external causes
collectivistic cultures are more shame-prone
- more often and more intense
- shame when other group member misbehaves: confirms group membership
- shame motivates to respect norms and values
Moral Emotions in Chinese Children (Li et al., 2024)
more guilt is related to:
-> less externalizing behavior
-> less internalizing behavior
-> better social competence
more shame is related to:
-> more externalizing behavior
-> less social competence
