Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

shame

 
Dictionary: shame   (shām) pronunciation
 
shame

Click here for more free books!
n.
    1. A painful emotion caused by a strong sense of guilt, embarrassment, unworthiness, or disgrace.
    2. Capacity for such a feeling: Have you no shame?
  1. One that brings dishonor, disgrace, or condemnation.
  2. A condition of disgrace or dishonor; ignominy.
  3. A great disappointment.
tr.v., shamed, sham·ing, shames.
  1. To cause to feel shame; put to shame.
  2. To bring dishonor or disgrace on.
  3. To disgrace by surpassing.
  4. To force by making ashamed: He was shamed into making an apology.
idiom:

put to shame

  1. To fill with shame; disgrace.
  2. To outdo thoroughly; surpass: Your productivity has put the rest of us to shame.

[Middle English, from Old English sceamu.]


Search unanswered questions...
Enter a word or phrase...
All Community Q&A Reference topics
 
World of the Body: shame
Top

In the beginning, there was no shame. Genesis tells us that Adam and Eve ‘were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.’ Having eaten the forbidden fruit, however, they knew of their nakedness and sought to hide it. Shame thus came into existence, along with mortality, physical toil, and the pains of childbirth. In the Bible, shame is intrinsically connected with both the body and wrongdoing, or more precisely with self-consciousness of one's body and awareness of wrongdoing. Once they had disobeyed God, Adam and Eve became ashamed of their nakedness and took cover.

Similarly, in the ancient Greek world, shame was linked to the body etymologically and in Homer's tales also to nakedness and sexuality. The dread of being seen naked or making love, or being seen to witness love-making, to use examples from the Odyssey, might indicate that the idea of shame is tied to that of physical vulnerability. It also suggests that it is a fear of appearing other than one might like to in the eyes of others, mortal or divine. In a heroic culture, in which men like Odysseus and his son, Telemachus, are repeatedly referred to as ‘god-like’, this is more likely to be a fear of seeming base, stripped of dignity, and lacking in the requisite virtues of courage, wisdom, temperance, and so forth. It is the fear of revealing oneself as being closer to an animal than a god, of being no more than flesh and ruled by it, concomitant with the ignominious need to conceal oneself and crouch, rather than to be able to stand or walk tall — images associated by contrast with honour and pride.

In moral philosophy, feeling shame has generally been considered a natural disposition or sensation, and the fear of incurring it an universal motive for action or forbearance from antiquity onwards. It has also been taken as crucial evidence of the existence of an innate moral sense, most notably by Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746) and the Scottish school of moral philosophy.

Its management and careful manipulation has been deemed crucial in pedagogical practice and theory, especially in times when physical punishment was thought inefficacious or aberrant. In one of the most influential pedagogical treatises of all time, Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693), John Locke urged parents to desist from beating their children and encouraged them to use the softer, but more effective, ways of shame and its counterpart, commendation.

Following World War II, especially in the context of understanding Japanese society from a Western point of view, much was made of the distinction between so-called ‘shame’ and ‘guilt’ cultures, a distinction introduced by Ruth Benedict (The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, 1946). The former rely on ‘external sanctions for good behaviour’, the latter on ‘an internalized conviction of sin’. Although there seems to be a psychological difference between shame and guilt, to contrast cultures on that basis is at best misleading. Thus, while feelings of guilt tend to imply that someone other than oneself has been wronged in some way, one could feel ashamed of an action which did not involve anyone else. Beyond this, however, the two concepts and the feelings which they identify overlap to a large extent and are too complex to admit of a sharp contrast. At the cultural level, the matter is, if anything, more complex still; it is difficult to imagine a society in which fear of shame was a significant or leading motive for action or forbearance, without ‘an internalized conviction’ of wrongdoing and of breach of a socially accepted code of behaviour.

— Sylvana Tomaselli

Bibliography

  • Williams, B. (1993). Shame and necessity. University of California Press, Berkeley
 
Thesaurus: shame
Top

noun

  1. Loss of or damage to one's reputation: bad name, bad odor, discredit, disgrace, dishonor, disrepute, humiliation, ignominy, ill repute, obloquy, odium, opprobrium. See respect/contempt/standing.
  2. A great disappointment or regrettable fact: crime, pity. Slang bummer. Idioms: a crying shame. See good/bad.

verb

  1. To cause to feel embarrassment, dishonor, and often guilt: reproach. Idioms: put to shame, put to the blush. See respect/contempt/standing.
  2. To damage in reputation: discredit, disgrace, dishonor. Idioms: be a reproach to. See respect/contempt/standing.

 
Idioms: shame
Top

Idioms beginning with shame:
shame on you

In addition to the idiom beginning with shame, also see crying shame; for shame; put to shame.


 
Antonyms: shame
Top

n

Definition: disgrace, embarrassment
Antonyms: honor, pride, respect

v

Definition: disgrace, embarrass
Antonyms: be proud, honor, regard, respect


 
Shamed (shā'mĕd) , in the Bible, son of Elpaal.
 
Psychoanalysis: Shame
Top

The word shame encompasses: 1) the raw emotion linked to a loss of one's bearings; 2) judgment about this state (the perception of shame as such resulting from the comparison of oneself with a model); and 3) judgment about both this emotion and the possible causes of shame (implying possibilities for action). In all cases, shame is a sense of anxiety about being excluded, that is, not only fear of a withdrawal of love, but even withdrawal of any form of interest.

In "Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality" (1905), Sigmund Freud linked shame to the action of the forces of repression (what was initially an object of pleasure becomes an object of modesty, disgust, or shame). By contrast, in "La honte comme angoisse sociale" (Shame as a Social Anxiety; 1929), Imre Hermann described shame as a "social anxiety" linked to attachment.

Shame always has two aspects: one relating to individual mental functioning (anxiety about mental disintegration), and the other relating to relations with the group (anxiety about being excluded). Pathological shame is to be distinguished from shame as a signal of alarm. Coping with shame involves both naming it and reinforcing the secondary processes to limit its disintegrative effects. It can be displaced or masked, especially by resignation, anger, guilt, or hate.

To a certain extent, shame was a "blind spot" for Freud and, in his wake, for many psychoanalysts who reduced it to a pathological affect linked to the ideal ego and opposed to the guilt associated with the oedipal superego. However, it is a concept that is essential to the understanding of the dynamics of social bonds (it protects people from engaging in nonhuman actions) and intergenerational secrets.

Bibliography

Chasseguet-Smirgel, Janine. (1973). Essai sur L'Idéal du Moi. Contributionà l'état psychanalytique de la "maladie d'idéalité." Revue française de psychanalyse, 37, 5-6, 735-929.

Freud, Sigmund. (1905). Three essays on the theory of sexuality. SE, 7: 123-243.

Hermann, Imre. (1982). La honte comme angoisse sociale. Confrontation, 8, 167-177. (Original work published 1929)

Nathanson, Donald L. (Ed.). (1987). The many faces of shame. New York and London: Guilford Press.

Tisseron, Serge. (1993). La honte, psychanalyse d'un lien social. Paris: Dunod.

—SERGE TISSERON

 
Word Tutor: shame
Top
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: n. - An unfortunate development; A painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt.

pronunciation Being ignorant is not so much a shame as being unwilling to learn. — Benjamin Franklin 

 
Quotes About: Shame
Top

Quotes:

"Whilst shame keeps its watch, virtue is not wholly extinguished in the heart; nor will moderation be utterly exiled from the minds of tyrants." - Edmund Burke

"Study carefully, the character of the one you recommend, lest their misconduct bring you shame." - Marcus T. Cicero

"What a man is ashamed of is always at bottom himself; and he is ashamed of himself at bottom always for being afraid." - Robin G. Collingwood

"Shame and guilt are noble emotions essential in the maintenance of civilized society, and vital for the development of some of the most refined and elegant qualities of human potential." - Willard Gaylen

"See! those fiendish lineaments graven on the darkness, the writhed lip of scorn, the mockery of that living eye, the pointed finger, touching the sore place in your heart! Do you remember any act of enormous folly, at which you would blush, even in the remotest cavern of the earth? Then recognize your Shame." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

"One of the misfortunes of our time is, that in getting rid of false shame, we have killed off so much real shame as well." - Louis Kronenberger

See more famous quotes about Shame

 
Wikipedia: Shame
Top

Shame is, variously, an affect, emotion, cognition, state, or condition. The roots of the word shame are thought to derive from an older word meaning to cover; as such, covering oneself, literally or figuratively, is a natural expression of shame.[1]

Contents

Description

Nineteenth century scientist Charles Darwin, in his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, described shame affect as consisting of blushing, confusion of mind, downward cast eyes, slack posture, and lowered head, and he noted observations of shame affect in human populations worldwide.[2] He also noted the sense of warmth or heat (associated with the vasodilation of the face and skin) occurring in intense shame.

A "sense of shame" is the consciousness or awareness of shame as a state or condition. Such shame cognition may occur as a result of the experience of shame affect or, more generally, in any situation of embarrassment, dishonor, disgrace, inadequacy, humiliation, or chagrin.[3]

A condition or state of shame may also be assigned externally, by others, regardless of the one's own experience or awareness. "To shame" generally means to actively assign or communicate a state of shame to another. Behaviors designed to "uncover" or "expose" others are sometimes used for this purpose, as are utterances like "Shame!" or "Shame on you!"

Finally, to "have shame" means to maintain a sense of restraint against offending others while to "have no shame" is to behave without such restraint.

Shame vs. guilt and embarrassment

The location of the dividing line between the concepts of shame, guilt, and embarrassment is not fully standardized.[4]

According to cultural anthropologist Ruth Benedict, shame is a violation of cultural or social values while guilt feelings arise from violations of one's internal values. Thus, it is possible to feel ashamed of thought or behavior that no one knows about and to feel guilty about actions that gain the approval of others.

Psychoanalyst Helen B. Lewis argued that "The experience of shame is directly about the self, which is the focus of evaluation. In guilt, the self is not the central object of negative evaluation, but rather the thing done is the focus."[5] Similarly, Fossum and Mason say in their book Facing Shame that "While guilt is a painful feeling of regret and responsibility for one's actions, shame is a painful feeling about oneself as a person."[6] Following this line of reasoning, Psychiatrist Judith Lewis Herman concludes that "Shame is an acutely self-conscious state in which the self is 'split,' imagining the self in the eyes of the other; by contrast, in guilt the self is unified."[7]

Clinical psychologist Gershen Kaufman's view of shame is derived from that of Affect Theory, namely that shame is one of a set of instinctual, subcortically-controlled, short-duration physiological reactions to stimulation.[8][9] Kaufman considered guilt to be a learned behavior consisting essentially of self-directed blame or contempt, with shame occurring consequent to such behaviors making up a part of the overall experience of guilt. Here, by self-blame and self-contempt Kaufman means the application, towards (a part of) one's self, of exactly the same dynamic that blaming of, and contempt for, others represents when it is applied interpersonally. Kaufman saw that mechanisms such as blame or contempt may be used as a defending strategy against the experience of shame and that someone who has a pattern of applying them to himself may well attempt to defend against a shame experience by applying self-blame or self-contempt. This, however, can lead to an internalized, self-reinforcing sequence of shame events for which Kaufman coined the term "shame spiral.[8]

One view of difference between shame and embarrassment is that shame does not necessarily involve public humiliation while embarrassment does, that is, one can feel shame for an act known only to oneself but in order to be embarrassed one's actions must be revealed to others. In the field of ethics (moral psychology, in particular), however, there is debate as to whether or not shame is a heteronomous emotion, i.e. whether or not shame does involve recognition on the part of the ashamed that he or she has been judged negatively by others. Immanuel Kant and his followers held that shame is heteronomous; Bernard Williams and others have argued that shame can be autonomous.[10][11] Shame may carry the connotation of a response to something that is morally wrong whereas embarrassment is the response to something that is morally neutral but socially unacceptable. Another view of shame and embarrassment, though, is that the two emotions lie on a continuum and only differ in intensity.

Subtypes

Genuine shame is associated with genuine dishonor, disgrace, or condemnation. False shame is associated with false condemnation as in the double-bind form of false shaming; "he brought what we did to him upon himself". Author and TV personality John Bradshaw calls shame the "emotion that lets us know we are finite".[12] "Toxic" shame describes false, pathological shame, and Bradshaw states that toxic shame is induced, inside children, by all forms of child abuse. Incest and other forms of child sexual abuse can cause particularly severe toxic shame. Toxic shame often induces what is known as complex trauma in children who cannot cope with toxic shaming as it occurs and who dissociate the shame until it is possible to cope with.[citation needed]

In the 1990s, psychologists introduced the notion of vicarious shame, which refers to the experience of shame on behalf of another person. Individuals vary in their tendency to experience vicarious shame, which is related to neuroticism and to the tendency to experience personal shame. Extremely shame-prone people might even experience vicarious shame even to an increased degree, in other words: shame on behalf of another person who is already feeling shame on behalf of a third party (or possibly on behalf of the individual proper).

Social aspects

Shame is considered one aspect of socialization in all societies. Shame is enshrouded in legal precedent as a pillar of punishment and ostensible correction. Shame has been linked to narcissism in the psychoanalytic literature. It is one of the most intense emotions. The individual experiencing shame may feel totally despicable, worthless and feel that there is no redemption. According to the anthropologist Ruth Benedict, cultures may be classified by their emphasis of using either shame or guilt to regulate the social activities of their members. Shared opinions and expected behaviours that cause the feeling of shame (as well as an associated reproval) if violated by an individual are in any case proven to be very efficient in guiding behaviour in a group or society.

Shame is a common form of control used by those people who commit relational aggression. It is also used in the workplace as a form of overt social control or aggression. Shamery is also a central feature of punishment, shunning, or ostracism. In addition, shame is often seen in victims of child neglect, child abuse and a host of other crimes against children.

A "shame campaign" is a tactic in which particular individuals are singled out because of their behavior or suspected crimes, often by marking them publicly, such as Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. In the Philippines, Alfredo Lim popularized such tactics during his term as mayor of Manila. On July 1, 1997, he began a controversial "spray paint shame campaign” in an effort to stop drug use. He and his team sprayed bright red paint on two hundred squatter houses whose residents had been charged, but not yet convicted, of selling prohibited substances. Officials of other municipalities followed suit. Former Senator Rene A. Saguisag condemned Lim’s policy.[13]

Despite this criticism, the shame campaigns continued. In January 2005, Metro Manila Development Authority Chair Bayani Fernando announced shame campaign to target jaywalkers by splashing them with wet rags. Sen. Richard Gordon disagreed with the shame tactic, and Rep. Vincent Crisologo called this approach "martial law tactics". Rep. Rozzano Rufino Biazon argued jaywalkers were being treated like cattle.[14][15]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Lewis, Helen B. (1971), Shame and guilt in neurosis, International University Press, New York, p. 63, ISBN 0-8236-8307-9 
  2. ^ Darwin, Charles (1872), The expression of the emotions in man and animals, London: John Murray, http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1142&viewtype=text&pageseq=1 
  3. ^ Broucek, Francis (1991), Shame and the Self, Guilford Press, New York, p. 5, ISBN 0-89862-444-4 
  4. ^ Tangney, JP; Miller Flicker Barlow (1996). "Are shame, guilt, and embarrassment distinct emotions?". Journal of Personal Social Psychology 70: 1256. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.70.6.1256. 
  5. ^ Lewis, Helen B. (1971), Shame and guilt in neurosis, International University Press, New York, ISBN 0-8236-8307-9 
  6. ^ Fossum, Merle A.; Mason, Marilyn J. (1986), Facing Shame: Families in Recovery, W.W. Norton, p. 5, ISBN 0-393-30581-3 
  7. ^ Herman, Judith Lewis (2007). "Shattered Shame States and their Repair". The John Bowlby Memorial Lecture. http://www.cha.harvard.edu/vov/publications/Shattered%20Shame-JHerman.pdf. 
  8. ^ a b Kaufman, Gershen (1992), Shame: The Power of Caring (3rd ed.), Schenkman Books, Rochester, VT, ISBN 0-87047-052-3 
  9. ^ Nathanson, Donald (1992), Shame and Pride: Affect, Sex, and the Birth of the Self, W.W. Norton, NY, ISBN 0-393-03097-0 
  10. ^ Williams, Bernard: Shame and Necessity
  11. ^ Hutchinson, Phil: chapter four of Shame and Philosophy
  12. ^ Bradshaw, John (December 1996). Bradshaw on the Family: A New Way of Creating Solid Self-Esteem. HCI. ISBN 1-5587-4427-4. 
  13. ^ Pulta, Benjamin B. "Spray campaign debate heats up." Sun.Star Manila. June 26, 2003.
  14. ^ "MMDA’s shame campaign slammed," The Manila Times, January 12, 2005.[dead link]
  15. ^ "campaign' vs graft backed," The Philippine Star, March 20, 2005.

Additional references

  • Bradshaw, J (1988). Healing the Shame That Binds You, HCI. ISBN 0-932194-86-9
  • Gilbert, P (2002) Body Shame: Conceptualisation, Research and Treatment. Brunner-Routledge. ISBN 1-58391-166-9
  • Gilbert, P (1998) Shame: Interpersonal Behavior, Psychopathology and Culture. ISBN 0-19-511480-9
  • Goldberg, Carl. (1991) Understanding Shame, Jason Aaronson, Inc., Northvale, NJ. ISBN 0-87668-541-6
  • Hutchinson, Phil (2008) Shame and Philosophy. London: Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN 0-23-054271-9
  • Lewis, Michael. (1992) Shame: The Exposed Self. NY: The Free Press. ISBN 0-02-918881-4
  • Middelton-Moz, J, (1990). Shame and Guilt: Masters of Disguise, HCI, ISBN 1-55874-072-4
  • Morrison, A (1996) The Culture of Shame. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-37484-3
  • Morrison, A (1989) Shame: The Underside of Narcissism. The Analytic Press. ISBN 0-88163-082-9
  • Nathanson, D., ed. (1987) The Many Faces of Shame. NY: The Guilford Press. ISBN 0-89862-705-2
  • Schneider, Carl D. (1977) Shame, Exposure, and Privacy. Boston: Beacon Press, ISBN 0-8070-1121-5
  • Vallelonga, Damian S. (1997). An empirical phenomenological investigation of being ashamed. In Valle, R. Phenomenological Inquiry in Psychology: Existential and Transpersonal Dimensions. New York: Plenum Press, 123-155.

External links


 
Translations: Shame
Top

Dansk (Danish)
n. - skam, skamfuldhed
v. tr. - gøre skamfuld, vanære, gøre til skamme, bringe skam over
int. - være skamfuld

idioms:

  • a shame    en skam
  • put to shame    gøre til skamme, beskæmme

Nederlands (Dutch)
schaamte, schande, schaamtegevoel, foei!, schande!, zonde!

Français (French)
n. - honte, dommage
v. tr. - faire honte à, déshonorer
int. - c'est une honte (excl)

idioms:

  • a shame    dommage
  • put to shame    faire honte

Deutsch (German)
n. - Scham, Schande
v. - beschämen
int. - pfui!

idioms:

  • a shame    schade
  • put to shame    jmdn. beschämen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ντροπή, αίσχος
v. - ντροπιάζω
int. - ντροπή!

idioms:

  • a shame    αίσχος
  • put to shame    καταντροπιάζω

Italiano (Italian)
vergogna, onta, vergogna!

idioms:

  • a shame    peccato
  • put to shame    svergognare

Português (Portuguese)
n. - vergonha (f), pudor (m), desonra (f)
v. - envergonhar, humilhar

idioms:

  • a shame    uma vergonha
  • put to shame    envergonhar alguém

Русский (Russian)
стыд, позор, досада, стыдить, срамить

idioms:

  • a shame    какая досада!, как обидно!
  • put to shame    пристыдить

Español (Spanish)
n. - vergüenza, pena, lástima, deshonra
v. tr. - avergonzar, abochornar, afrentar, deshonrar
int. - ¡puf!, ¡pu!, ¡puah!

idioms:

  • a shame    lástima, una lástima
  • put to shame    avergonzar, humillar

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - skam, skamsenhet
v. - göra skamsen, skämma ut, få att skämma, dra vanära över
int. - skäms!, skam, synd, tråkigt

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
羞耻, 可耻的人, 羞愧, 使羞愧, 侮辱, 好丢脸

idioms:

  • a shame    很可惜
  • put to shame    使难为情, 使蒙羞

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 羞恥, 可恥的人, 羞愧
v. tr. - 使羞愧, 侮辱
int. - 好丟臉

idioms:

  • a shame    很可惜
  • put to shame    使難為情, 使蒙羞

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 부끄러움, 불명예, (여자의) 음란함
v. tr. - 창피 주다, 부끄러워하게 하다, 부끄러워서 ~하게 하다
int. - 부끄러워 하다

idioms:

  • a shame    망신시키는 일
  • put to shame    무안을 주다, 면목을 잃게 하다, 훨씬 앞지르다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 恥ずかしさ, 恥, 不名誉, 恥ずべきこと, ひどいこと, 残念なこと
v. - 恥をかかせる, 恥じ入らせて…させる

idioms:

  • a crying shame    ひどい面汚し
  • a shame    不面目なこと, 面汚し, ひどいこと
  • put to shame    恥をかかせる, …よりはるかに勝る

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) عار, خزي, خجل, حياء (فعل) يخزي, يكره‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮בושה, חרפה, קלון‬
v. tr. - ‮בייש, המיט קלון על, העמיד בצל, עלה על‬
int. - ‮חבל!‬


 
Best of the Web: shame
Top

Some good "shame" pages on the web:


American Sign Language
commtechlab.msu.edu
 
 
Shopping: shame
Top
 
 
Learn More
Alcoholism
Bulimia
Clinging Instinct

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
World of the Body. The Oxford Companion to the Body. Copyright © 2001, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Answers Corporation Antonyms. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
Psychoanalysis. International Dictionary of Psychoanalysis. Copyright © 2005 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved.
eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial Read more
Quotes About. Copyright © 2005 QuotationsBook.com. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Shame" Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more