Shame and guilt are moral emotions that result from deviations from internalized standards. Both constructs differ with respect to their genesis, to the emotions accompanying them, and to their behavioral consequences. Shame is associated with a loss of self-respect, social withdrawal, anger, and aggression. Guilt, on the other hand, supports prosocial behavior and motivates compensation for the inflicted loss. Based on repeated interviews with 1,243 offenders from six prisons for young offenders, the study examined to what extent feelings of shame and guilt experienced during a prison term influenced recidivism after release. An event-history analysis indicated that feelings of guilt at the beginning of a prison term correlated with lower rates of recidivism, and feelings of shame correlated with higher rates. Results are discussed with regard to their implications for further research and the justice system.
Abell, E., & Gecas, V. (1997). Guilt, shame, and family socialization. Journal of Family Issues, 18, 99-123.
2.
Allbus. (2000). German General Social Survey [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.gesis.org/en/social_monitoring/allbus/index.htm
3.
Barrett, K.C. (1995). A functionalist approach to shame and guilt. In J. P. Tangney & K. W. Fischer (Eds.), Self-conscious emotions. The psychology of shame, guilt, embarrassment, and pride (pp. 25-63). New York: Guilford.
4.
Baumeister, R.F., & Bushman, B.J. (2003). Emotions and aggressiveness. In W. Heitmeyer & J. Hagan (Eds.), The international handbook of violence research (pp. 479-493). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer Academic.
Bereswill, M. (2004). Inside-out: Resocialisation from prison as a biographical process. A longitudinal approach to the psychodynamics of imprisonment. Journal of Social Work Practice, 18, 315-336.
7.
Blossfeld, H.-P., & Rohwer, G. (1995). Techniques of event history modeling. New approaches to causal analysis. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
8.
Bosold, C., Lauterbach, O., & Hosser, D. (in press). Psychosoziale Behandlung im Jugendstrafvollzug. Erste Ergebnisse einer Längsschnittstudie [Psycho-social treatment for young prisoners. First results of a longitudinal study]. Praxis der Rechtspsychologie .
9.
Braithwaite, J. (1989). Crime, shame and reintegration. Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press.
10.
Braithwaite, J. (2001). Reintegrative shaming. In R. Paternoster & R. Bachmann (Eds.), Explaining criminals and crime: Essays in contemporary criminological theory (pp. 242-251). Los Angeles: Roxbury .
11.
Brüederl, J., & Diekmann, A. (1995). The log—logistic rate model. Two generalizations with an application to demographic data. Sociological Methods and Research, 24, 158-186.
12.
Ekman, P. (1992). An argument for basic emotions. Cognition and Emotions, 6, 169-200.
13.
Formann, A.K., & Piswanger, K. (1979). Wiener Matritzen Test [Vienna Matrices Test]. Weinheim, Germany: Beltz.
14.
Ganzeboom, H.B.G., de Graaf, P.M., Treimann, D.J., & de Leeuw, J. (1992). A Standard International Socio-Economic Index of Occupational Status. Social Science Research,21, 1-56.
15.
Gollwitzer, P. M., & Bargh, J. A. (Eds.). (1996). The psychology of action: Linking cognition and motivation to behavior. New York : Guilford.
16.
Greene, W.H. (2000). Econometric analysis. London : Prentice Hall.
17.
Greve, W. (2001). Imprisonment of juveniles and adolescents: Deficits and demands for developmental research. AppliedDevelopmental Science, 5, 21-36.
18.
Hosser, D., Windzio, M., & Greve, W. (2005). Scham, Schuldgefühle und Delinquenz: Eine Rückfallstudie mit jugendlichen Strafgefangenen [Shame, guilt, and delinquency: A study of repeated offending with adolescent prisoners]. Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie, 36, 227-238.
19.
Johnstone, G., & Van Ness, D. (Eds.). (2006 ). Handbook of restorative justice. Cullompton , UK: Willan.
20.
Lindsay-Hartz, J. (1984). Contrasting experiences of shame and guilt. American Behavioral Scientist, 27, 689-704.
21.
Nunner-Winkler, G. (2004). Sociohistoric changes in the structure of moral motivation. In D. K. Lapsley & D. Narvaez (Eds.), Moral development, self, and identity (pp. 299-333). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
22.
Ortmann, R. (2000). The effectiveness of social therapy in prison: A randomized experiment. Crime & Delinquency, 46, 214-232.
23.
Roos, J. (2000). Peinlichkeit, Scham & Schuld [Embarassement, shame and guilt]. In J. H. Otto, H. A. Euler, & H. Mandl (Eds.), Emotionspsychologie (pp. 264-267). Weinheim, Germany: Beltz.
24.
Scheff, T.J. (1988). Shame and conformity: The deference-emotion system . American Sociological Review, 53, 395-406.
25.
Schmidt-Atzert, L. (1997). Entwicklung und Evaluierung von Skalen zur Erfassung des emotionalen Befindens in den letzten 7 Tagen (EMO-16-Woche) [Development and evaluation of scales for measuring emotions during the last 7 days]. Zeitschrift für Differentielle und Diagnostische Psychologie, 18, 182-198.
26.
Schmidt-Atzert, L., & Hüppe, M. (1996). Emotionsskalen EMO 16. Ein Fragebogen zur Selbstbeschreibung des aktuellen emotionalen Gefühlszustandes [Emotion-scales EMO 16. A questionnaire for the self-description of actual emotions]. Diagnostica , 42, 242-267.
27.
Sutter, H. (Ed.). (1987). Soziales Training im Strafvollzug. Bestandsaufnahme und künftige Zielsetzung [Social training in prison. Evaluation and future aims]. Heidelberg , Germany: AfeB.
28.
Sykes, G.M., & Matza, D. (1957). Techniques of neutralization: A theory of delinquency . American Sociological Review, 43, 643-656.
29.
Tangney, J.P. (1991). Moral affect: The good, the bad, the ugly. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 598-607.
30.
Tangney, J.P. (1995). Shame and guilt in interpersonal relationships . In J. P. Tangney & K. W. Fischer (Eds.), Self-conscious emotions. The psychology of shame, guilt, embarrassment, and pride (pp. 114-139). New York: Guilford.
31.
Tangney, J.P. (2002). Self-conscious emotions: The self as a moral guide . In A. Tesser, D. A. Stapel, & J. V. Wood (Eds.), Self and motivation (pp. 97-117). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
32.
Tangney, J.P., Burggraf, S.A., & Wagner, P.E. (1995). Shame-proneness, guilt-proneness, and psychological symptoms. In J. P. Tangney & K. W. Fischer (Eds.), Self-conscious emotions: The psychology of shame, guilt, embarrassment, and pride (pp. 343-367). New York: Guilford.
33.
Tangney, J.P., & Dearing, R.L. (2002). Shame and guilt. New York: Guilford.
34.
Tangney, J.P., Miller, R.S., Flicker, L., & Barlow, D.H. (1996). Are shame, guilt, and embarrassment distinct emotions?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 1256-1269.
35.
Tracy, J.L., & Robins, R.W. (2004). Putting the self into self-conscious emotions: A theoretical model. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 103-125.
36.
Weidner, J., Kilb, R. , & Kreft, D. (Eds.). (1997). Gewalt im Griff. Neue Formen des Anti-Aggressivitäts-Trainings [Violence under control: New forms of anti-aggression training]. Weinheim, Germany: Beltz.
37.
Weitekamp, E.G.M., Kerner, H.-J., & Reich, K. (2005). Why do young male Russians of German descent (Aussiedlers) tend to join or form violent gangs? In S. Decker & F. Weermann (Eds.), European street gangs and troublesome youth groups (pp. 81-104). New York: Altamira.
38.
Weizmann-Henelius, G., Sailas, E., Viemerö, V., & Eronen, M. (2002). Violent woman, blame attribution, crime, and personality . Psychopathology,35, 355-361.
39.
Windzio, M. (2006). Is there a deterrent effect of pains of imprisonment? The impact of “social costs” of first incarceration on the hazard rate of recidivism. Punishment & Society, 8, 341-364.
