Quando la colpa è costruttiva

Quando la colpa è costruttiva - Some researchers have focused their interest on moral emotions, expecially guilt and shame. The issue is to define the differences between them. According to Lewis (1971) guilt is the result of negative appraisal of behaviour, whereas shame is caused by negative appraisal of the Self. As a consequence, guilt may be considered to be more adaptive than shame and is thus a less distruptive emotion in term of self-esteem. In this way, the attributive process and the coping strategies which are available seem to be the key to whether guilt rather than shame is elicit. In any case, as more than one type of guilt exists, more clarity is necessary. Further light is also required regarding the relationship between the proneness of guilt/shame and specific situations. With reference to the most recent literature, this paper presents and discusses matters which are still open, focusing on the directions that future research might take.

Anna Maria Meneghini, Quando la colpa è costruttiva in "DiPAV - QUADERNI" 23/2008, pp 103-120, DOI: