"RENDER UNTO CAESAR WHAT IS CAESAR'S":

Previous research on the relationship between religiosity and involvement in illegal behavior overlooks Hirschi and Stark's original concern with religion as a sanctioning system. While Hirschi and Stark proposed that religion affects compliance with the law by promising heaven and threatening damnation, this study suggests that its sanctions are self-imposed shame and socially-imposed embarrassment. Shame and embarrassment are compatible with a rational choice perspective on illegal behavior—they lower the expected utility of crime and, thus, its likelihood. These two threats stem from two conceptually distinct dimensions of religiosity. People strongly self-identified as religious are more likely to feel ashamed if they violate the law; those involved in a social network based on religion are more likely to be embarrassed. An adult sample's responses to a question concerning the likelihood of cheating on income taxes in the future tests these hypotheses. The threat of shame emanating from religious identity salience is a stronger deterrent than that of embarrassment.     

Looking‐Glass Self: Goffman as Symbolic Interactionist

My thesis is that for most of his career, Erving Goffman was a symbolic interactionist in the Cooley line. The only sustained theoretical structure in Goffman's work before 1974 follows Cooley's conjecture of the looking‐glass self. Cooley assumed shared awareness, that we “live in the minds of others.” He also realized that shared awareness is virtually invisible in modern societies and proposed pride or shame as the emotions that resulted. Goffman emphasized embarrassment over shame and implied a fourth step beyond Cooley's three: the management of embarrassment or shame. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life is dense with these emotions. Goffman proposed conceptual definitions of the embarrassment and shared awareness that are central to Cooley's idea. The conjunction of shared awareness and emotion in Goffman's examples may be the main feature that arouses reader sympathy. Two hypotheses are formulated here, along with techniques that might be used to test or apply them.     

Shame and the Psychosocial Costs of Contemporary Work: Implications for Career Intervention

This article explores the concept of shame and integrates it into career development and career counseling. The article begins with an overview of shame from a diverse conceptual framework, describing shame as a self-conscious emotion that occurs in response to interactions or events that evoke embarrassment, humiliation, self-doubt, and psychological distress. We discuss the prevalence of shame in work-based interactions and contexts, which is referred to as work shame. Building on this integrative review of shame within the working context, we describe the counseling implications and provide a case study to illustrate the ways in which shame emerges in clients' lives and potential strategies to resist and transcend shame.     

Deterrence in the workplace: perceived certainty, perceived severity, and employee theft

The phenomenon of employee theft is examined empirically, utilizing a deterrence paradigm. Employees selected randomly from three different industry sectors and metropolitan areas were asked to self-report their involvement in a number of property theft activities within the employment setting. Using a weighted least-squares logit regression analysis, the study found that the perception of both the certainty and severity of organizational sanctions were related to employee theft. Males reported more theft than did females, but contrary to previous research, no gender/certainty or gender/severity interactions were observed. The best-fit model did, however, contain two significant first-order interactions: age/certainty and age/severity. These interactions strongly suggest that younger employees are not as deterrable as their older peers, especially under conditions of both high certainty and high severity of punishment. While a number of possible explanations might account for differential deterrability according to age, a commitment to or stakes in conformity explanation is proposed.     

Social Worker Shame in Child and Family Social Work: Inadequacy,Failure, and the Struggle to Practise Humanely

Social workers operate within a complex environment where the failure to live up to expectations can lead to negative self-judgements or negative judgements from others, a sense of inadequacy and not feeling ‘good enough’. This paper conceptualises such issues through the lens of ‘social worker shame’ defined through a psychosociocultural understanding of the emotion. The effect of social worker shame on social workers' well-being and practise is considered and begins to conceptualise how an organisation can become shame-sensitive and practitioners shame-resilient with the aim of reducing the potential impact of social worker shame on practise.     

Gender Differences in Emotion Expression in Low-Income Adolescents Under Stress

Gender roles in mainstream US culture suggest that girls express more happiness, sadness, anxiety, and shame/embarrassment than boys, while boys express more anger and externalizing emotions, such as contempt. However, gender roles and emotion expression may be different in low-income and ethnically diverse families, as children and parents are often faced with greater environmental stressors and may have different gender expectations. This study examined gender differences in emotion expression in low-income adolescents, an understudied population. One hundred and seventy nine adolescents (aged 14–17) participated in the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Trained coders rated adolescents’ expressions of happiness, sadness, anxiety, shame/embarrassment, anger, and contempt during the TSST using a micro-analytic coding system. Analyses showed that, consistent with gender roles, girls expressed higher levels of happiness and shame than boys; however, contrary to traditional gender roles, girls showed higher levels of contempt than boys. Also, in contrast to cultural stereotypes, there were no differences in anger between boys and girls. Findings suggest gender-role inconsistent displays of externalizing emotions in low-income adolescents under acute stress, and may reflect different emotion socialization experiences in this group.     

The Many Faces of a Neutral Face: Head Tilt and Perception of Dominance and Emotion

Based on the premise that human head tilt is homologous to animal dominance displays, we hypothesized that when a head is bowed, the face should be perceived as submissive, sad, displaying inferiority emotions (i.e., shame, embarrassment, guilt, humiliation, and respect) and, paradoxically, as contracting the zygomatic major muscle. Conversely, a raised head should be perceived as more dominant and displaying greater superiority emotions (i.e., contempt and pride). We conducted two experiments showing 3-D models of faces to 64 participants. The results confirmed our hypotheses and also showed that a raised head connotes happiness. In addition, we found a significant influence of the actors' sex on participants' perception, such as a bias towards perceiving stronger upward contraction of the mouth in female than male actors when the head is tilted. We discuss these findings within the context of evolution and social behavior.     

Impact of problem gambling on financial,emotional and social well-being of Singaporean families

Problem gambling has a profound impact on family members. While this has been previously documented, this paper reports on the first study to consider the extent of this impact in Asian societies where the family continues to be a very important basis for social organization. This study, based on in-depth interviews with 50 Singaporeans with a family member who is a problem or pathological gambler, examines how their financial, emotional and social well-being is impinged upon by gambling. The enormous losses of savings, property and lifestyle, the emotional tensions based on constant harassment from moneylenders, the threats of suicide by the gambler and the distancing of social networks place family members of problem gamblers in a vulnerable state. The qualitative data in this paper fleshes out the lived experience of family members and reveals the extent to which the family is mobilized in Asian societies to cope with problem gambling. While the impact of problem gambling on families is similar across societies, routine mobilization of the extended family and the greater role of public shame and embarrassment in dictating Asian families' responses underscore the need for specialized services in these societies to assist family members to better cope with the financial, emotional and social strains caused by problem gambling.     

Coping with Guilt and Shame After Gambling Loss

In this study we examined the relations between guilt and shame and coping strategies in response to gambling loss. Based on H.B. Lewis’s (Shame & guilt in neurosis. New York: International Universities Press, 1971) account of guilt and shame, we proposed that unlike guilt, the experience of shame involves the attribution of gambling loss to stable and global internal factors (i.e., self-devaluation). We hypothesized that problem gambling severity would be more strongly associated with the intensity of shame than with the intensity of guilt following gambling loss. Further, we hypothesized that the intensity of shame would be positively associated with the use of avoidant coping strategies following gambling loss. Finally, we hypothesized that the intensity of shame would mediate the association between problem gambling severity and the use of avoidant coping. These hypotheses were supported by a retrospective survey of recent gambling losses. Our finding suggests that the experience of shame and the use of avoidant coping strategies to deal with this emotion are central to problem gambling severity.     

SAFETY FIRST, BANKRUPTCY, AND THE PRICING AND INVESTMENT DECISIONS OF THE FIRM

The paper analyzes the impact of imposing a constraint on the probability of bankruptcy for the pricing and investment choices of firms. Two models are presented in which a firm faces stochastic demand; in one costs are known with certainty, and in the other costs of production are probabilistic. In both cases the constraint induces a reduction in optimal price if demand is elastic. For less elastic demand, price increases may be indicated. With constant costs, the constraint lowers optimal investment. The results are applicable to the analysis of rating agencies' behavior, or to the design of bond covenants, especially for public utilities.     

Shame and the Social Bond: A Sociological Theory

Emotion has long been recognized in sociology as crucially important, but most references to it are generalized and vague. In this essay, I nominate shame, specifically, as the premier social emotion. First I review the individualized treatment of shame in psychoanalysis and psychology, and the absence of social context. Then I consider the contributions to the social dimensions of shame by six sociologists (Georg Simmel, Charles Cooley, Norbert Elias, Richard Sennett, Helen Lynd, Erving Goffman) and a psychologist/psychoanalyst (Helen Lewis). I show that Cooley and Lynd, particularly, made contributions to a theory of shame and the social bond. Lewis's idea that shame arises from threats to the bond integrates the contributions of all six sociologists, and points toward future research on emotion, conflict, and alienation/integration.     

Self-Directed Gambling Changes: Trajectory of Problem Gambling Severity in Absence of Treatment

Most problem gamblers do not seek formal treatment, recovering on their own through cognitive re-appraisal or self-help strategies. Although barriers to treatment have been extensively studied, there is a paucity of research on self-directed changes in problem gambling and very few studies have examined these changes prospectively. The aim of this study was to examine the trajectory of gambling severity and behavior change over an 18-month period, among a sample of non-treatment seeking/attending problem gamblers recruited from the community (N?=?204) interested in quitting or reducing gambling. Separate mixed effects models revealed that in absence of formal treatment, significant reductions in gambling severity, frequency, and amount gambled could be observed over the course of a 6 to 9-month period and that changes experienced within the first 12 months were maintained for an extended 6 months. Problem gambling severity at baseline was significantly associated with changes in severity over time, such that participants with more severe gambling problems demonstrated greater reductions in their gambling severity over time. A total of 11.1% of participants gambled within a low-risk threshold at 18 months, although 28.7% of the sample reported consecutive gambling severity scores below problem levels for the duration of 1 year or longer. The findings suggest that among problem gamblers motivated to quit or reduce their gambling, significant self-directed changes in gambling severity can occur over a relatively short time. Additional prospective studies are needed to document the role of specific self-help tools or thought processes in exacting gambling changes.     

Walking atomic vegas: ritual,memorial, and toxic landscapes

ABSTRACT

This article proposes the use of ritualized walking to mark and remember invisible threats and the ‘slow violence’ of contaminated landscapes undergoing gradual change. To exemplify the idea, the article describes our proposal for a Plutonium Memorial design, which would be a mnemonic device for marking the location of a proposed nuclear waste storage facility buried under the iconic Las Vegas Strip. Supported with evidence that ritual is commonly used to reinforce collective conscience and memory outside the sacred realm, the core of this memorial design would be regularized and ritualized pilgrimages from one of the most important and symbolic American landscapes, Las Vegas, through the equally prominent Grand Canyon to the less well-known uranium mines in Arizona (the source of nuclear power). Though hyperbolic, the Plutonium Memorial demonstrates how an active cultural-based memorial has potential to preserve narratives around contaminated landscapes. To expand beyond this radical example we schematically speculate on other scenarios that could incorporate more representative (less extreme) haptic rituals around memorials marking slowly unfolding environmental disasters. The intention is to provide new visions for durable memorials built around culture rather than structures, which are engaged with not only the past, but also the future.     

Mothering,Guilt and Shame

Even as research continues to explore mothering experiences and social psychologists consider the costs of guilt and shame, few empirical works have examined the relationships among mothering, guilt and shame. The idea that guilt and shame are necessary components of mothering is widespread. A few sources take seriously the emotions of guilt and shame nor has considerable thought been given to the social nature of guilt and shame. Rather than accept a purely psychological explanation of guilt and shame, I investigate the institutional and interactional dynamics that fuel women’s drives to perform as ‘the good mother’. In particular, I explore the ‘good mothering’ ideology that places mothers at risk of guilt and shame and then two social and institutional spaces where guilt and shame are likely to be prevalent.     

An Investigation of the Association Between Shame and Problem Gambling: The Mediating Role of Maladaptive Coping Motives

Despite often being considered equivalent affective states, shame and guilt have differential associations with problem gambling with only shame showing a strong positive association with problem gambling. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying the shame-problem gambling association. Further, shame and guilt are associated with distinct coping strategies, with shame motivating maladaptive coping (e.g., avoidance, escape) and guilt motivating adaptive coping (e.g., taking corrective action). This study aimed to examine whether maladaptive coping motives for gambling mediate the relationship between shame, but not guilt, and gambling problems. Participants were 196 (126 male) regular gamblers who completed a same and guilt scale, the Problem Gambling Severity Index, and a modified Gambling Motives Questionnaire, which assessed individual motives to engage in gambling for coping, enhancement, or social reasons. Results indicated that coping motives for gambling fully mediated the relationship between shame and problem gambling severity, but did not mediate the association between guilt and problem gambling severity. Experiencing shame contributes to problem gambling as a result of gambling to cope with negative affect. Cultivating more adaptive strategies to cope with shame may be effective in preventing and treating problem gambling.     

Social Presence, Embarrassment, and Nonverbal Behavior

Nonverbal behaviors in response to viewing slides depicting nude males, nude females, erotic couples and neutral pictures, either alone or in the presence of two unfamiliar individuals, were studied in 22 female and 16 male university students. Participants were unaware of being videorecorded. Results revealed discrepancies between self-reported embarrassment and nonverbal behaviors supposedly expressive of embarrassment. Although self-reported embarrassment was higher when certain types of slides were viewed in the presence of others than when they were viewed alone, we observed significantly fewer lip movements, gaze shifts, face touches, downward gazes, and downward head movements in the presence of unfamiliar individuals than in the alone condition. We also compared behaviors during slide exposure and during the inter-slide intervals. For 9 out of 11 coded behaviors, frequencies were significantly higher during inter-slide intervals than during slide presentation. We argue that this is probably due to the fact that visual attention to the slides inhibited nonverbal behaviors. The results cast doubt on the possibility of inferring the internal state of an emotion such as embarrassment by analyzing nonverbal behaviors without taking account of the social setting in which such observations are made.     

Talk About Embarrassment: Exploring the Taboo-Repression-Denial Hypothesis

Theory and research suggest that, while embarrassment may be intrinsic to social interaction, its expression is C. taboo. Embarrassment is seen as reflecting social incompetence. As such, members make routine attempts to repress embarrassment in the self and to deny embarrassment to self and others. I call this the taboo–repression–denial hypothesis. However, despite attempts at repression and denial, members reveal embarrassment in a variety of ways, including verbally, paralinguistically/vocally, and facially/bodily. This paper is an initial investigation of emotion denial in verbal discourse. Through an analysis of embarrassment talk and non-embarrassment talk, I discover six features of the verbal context of references to embarrassment which aid in the disguise and denial of feeling: (1) verbal mitigation; (2) a link between references to embarrassment and mitigation; (3) verbal projection; (4) a link between use of “ya know”, embarrassment references, and mitigation; (5) a link between use of “I don't know”, embarrassment references, and mitigation; and (6) a link between references to embarrassment and laughter. Findings indicate verbal and nonverbal methods of emotion denial, and provide initial support for the taboo–repression–denial hypothesis.     

Shame and the city – ‘looting’, emotions and social structure

The sociology of violence is an emerging field but one in which there remains a tension between structural explanations and phenomenological‐situational ones that focus on the micro conditions of violence. This article proposes an analytical framework for connecting these levels through a critical appropriation of Scheff's theory of the shame‐rage cycle. It argues that while shame is a significant condition for violent action, Scheff does not have a theory of violence in itself but treats the connections between shame‐rage and violence as largely self‐evident. While emotions such as shame have agental properties, as Scheff and others argue, these need to be situated within structural and cultural conditions that are likely to evoke shame. Moreover, to develop Scheff's approach further, violence needs to be understood as being communicative and invoking normative justifications, which mediate the effects of shame‐rage. This analysis is developed with reference to recent instances of collective disorder, especially the English riots in August 2011, which is based on published research and media accounts from participants. The acquisition of consumer goods through ‘looting’ was public performance in spaces where a ‘moral holiday’ permitted a brief revaluation of the social order. Through this example the article shows how an underlying configuration of inequality, exclusion and shame coalesced into events in which the violence was a form of performative communication. This articulated ‘ugly feelings’ that invoked normative justification for participation, at least at the time of the disturbances. The discussion provides an integrated account of structural‐emotional conditions for violence combined with the dynamics of situated actions within particular spaces. It aims to do two things – to provide a framework for analysing the structural and affective bases for violence and to offer a nuanced understanding of ‘violence’ with reference to public disorder.     

Barriers to reporting sexual assault for women and men: perspectives of college students

The authors asked college students to rate the importance of a list of barriers to reporting rape and sexual assault among male and female victims. The authors' findings indicate that barriers prevalent 30 years ago, prior to efforts by the rape reform movement, continue to be considered important among college men and women. The barriers rated as the most important were (1) shame, guilt, embarrassment, not wanting friends and family to know; (2) concerns about confidentiality; and (3) fear of not being believed. Both genders perceived a fear of being judged as gay as an important barrier for male victims of sexual assault or rape and fear of retaliation by the perpetrator to be an important barrier for female victims.