The effect of shame on anger at others: awareness of the emotion-causing events matters

Numerous studies have found that shame increases individuals’ anger at others. However, according to recent theories about the social function of shame and anger at others, it is possible that shame controls individuals’ anger at others in specific conditions. We replicated previous findings that shame increased individuals’ anger at others’ unfairness, when others were not aware of the individual’s experience of shameful events. We also found for the first time that shame controlled or even decreased individuals’ anger at others’ unfairness, when others were aware of the individual’s experience of shameful events. The results were consistent when shame was induced by either a recall paradigm or an imagination paradigm, and in either the ultimatum game or the dictator game. This suggests that shame strategically controls individuals’ anger at others to demonstrate that they are willing to benefit others, when facing the risk of social exclusion. Our findings highlight the interpersonal function of shame and deepen the understanding of the relationship between shame and anger at others.

诸多过往研究均已证实，羞耻感会提升个体对他人的愤怒情绪。然而，基于近期有关羞耻感与个体对他人的愤怒情绪的社会功能的理论，羞耻感在特定情境下或许会抑制个体对他人的愤怒。本研究重复验证了过往研究结论：当他人未察觉个体曾经历羞耻事件时，羞耻感会加剧个体对他人不公行为的愤怒。本研究同时首次揭示：当他人知晓个体曾经历羞耻事件时，羞耻感会抑制甚至削弱个体对他人不公行为的愤怒。无论采用回忆范式还是想象范式启动羞耻感，也无论在最后通牒博弈（ultimatum game）还是独裁者博弈（dictator game）情境中，上述实验结果均保持一致。这表明，在面临社会排斥风险时，羞耻感会通过策略性地调控个体对他人的愤怒，以展现自身愿意为他人付出的意愿。本研究成果既凸显了羞耻感的人际功能，也深化了学界对羞耻感与个体对他人的愤怒情绪之间关联的认知。