Self-perceptions and moral affect: An exploratory analysis of subcultural diversity in guilt and shame emotions

Subcultural differences of 69 women and 122 men(M age = 20 years old) were examined on self-reports of shame, guilt, fear of intimacy, self-deprecation, and perceptions of inauthenticity. Subcultural group differences emerged for shame-proneness but not guilt-proneness, with Asian Americans claiming to be more susceptible to shame than European, African, or Latin Americans. Separate part-correlation analyses for each cultural grouping indicated a positive relationship between shame-proneness, self-deprecation, and inauthenticity for Asian-, European-, and Latin Americans. Among African-Americans shame-proneness was directly related to a fear of intimacy and self-deprecation. Guilt-proneness was not significantly related to any self-report variable across cultural groups. Multiple regression analyses indicated that self-deprecation for Asian and European Americans, inauthenticity for Latin Americans, and a fear of intimacy for African Americans were the best predictors of shame-proneness.