Synopses & Reviews
Review
"A comprehensive account of the nature and function of the self-conscious emotions. No library supporting work on the science of emotion should be without it....Essential. All readers, all levels."--Choice
"This is a comprehensive look at a very important topic, central to human functioning....Throughout, the book contains helpful tables and figures. The author and subject indexes are extensive and helpful."--Doody's Review Service
Review
"What a great book! Self-conscious emotions, such as shame, guilt, and pride, play a pivotal role in social and self-regulation. The contributors to this book add to our understanding of these emotions at every level--from their neural basis, cognitive underpinnings, and development, to their societal functions and cross-cultural differences. This book is a 'must read' for researchers and students interested in personality, identity, emotion, moral development, relationships, and culture."--Carol S. Dweck, PhD, Department of Psychology, Stanford University "Until now, the science of emotion has focused primarily on anxiety, sadness, and anger, but this wonderful book will help broaden that focus to include embarrassment, shame, guilt, pride, and humiliation. Tracy, Robins, and Tangney bring together world-class scientists who have written very informative and interesting chapters. The book is outstanding in its exploration of the biological, social, and developmental roots of the self-conscious emotions. Addressing such diverse topics as morality, risky behavior, conformity, and nationalism, this book advances the psychology of emotion in very important ways."--Ed Diener, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign "Self-conscious emotions are at the center of all inquiries into human beings as moral animals. This fascinating volume assembles diverse perspectives on the topic, offering a number of new insights and penetrating analyses. It is the single most important resource for all scholars hoping to get a glimpse at this emerging area of research."--Shinobu Kitayama, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan
Synopsis
Timely and authoritative, this volume reviews the breadth of current knowledge on the self-conscious emotions and their role in psychological and social functioning. Leading investigators approach the subject from multiple levels of analysis, ranging from basic brain mechanisms to complex social processes. Chapters present compelling advances in research on the most fundamental self-conscious emotions: embarrassment, guilt, humiliation, pride, and shame. Addressed are neural and evolutionary mechanisms, developmental processes, cultural differences and similarities, and influences on a wide array of social behaviors and personality processes. A unique chapter on assessment describes and evaluates the full range of available measures.
About the Author
Jessica L. Tracy, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia. Her research and publications focus on the expression, psychological structure, and cognitive elicitors of self-conscious emotions, as well as their links to personality and self-esteem regulation. Dr. Tracy founded the annual Society for Personality and Social Psychology Pre-Conference on Emotion, and her work has been honored by the Wellcome Trust-New Scientist Essay Competition, as well as by dissertation awards from the New York Academy of Sciences and the American Psychological Association.
Richard W. Robins, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis. His research and publications focus on personality, emotions, and the self. Dr. Robins is coeditor of the Handbook of Research Methods in Personality Psychology and the forthcoming Handbook of Personality, Third Edition, and he has served as associate editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Dr. Robins was awarded the American Psychological Associations Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology and the Society for Personality and Social Psychologys Theoretical Innovation Prize.
June Price Tangney, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at George Mason University. She is coauthor of Shame and Guilt and coeditor of the Handbook of Self and Identity. She has served as associate or consulting editor for several journals, and is currently associate editor of American Psychologist. Her research interests include the development and implications of moral emotions. Currently, her work focuses on moral emotions among incarcerated offenders.
Table of Contents
I. Theoretical Perspectives: Social, Cognitive, and Neural Mechanisms Underlying Self-Conscious Emotions
1. The Self in Self-Conscious Emotions: A Cognitive Appraisal Approach, Jessica L. Tracy and Richard W. Robins
2. What's Moral about the Self-Conscious Emotions?, June Price Tangney, Jeffrey Stuewig, and Debra J. Mashek
3. How the Self Became Involved in Affective Experience: Three Sources of Self-Reflective Emotions, Mark R. Leary
4. Neural Systems for Self-Conscious Emotions and Their Underlying Appraisals, Jennifer S. Beer
5. A Social Function for Self-Conscious Emotions: The Social Self Preservation Theory, Tara L. Gruenewald, Sally S. Dickerson, and Margaret E. Kemeny
II. Developmental Contexts and Processes
6. The Development of Self-Conscious Emotions: Cognitive Processes and Social Influences, Kristin Hansen Lagattuta and Ross A. Thompson
7. The Development of Pride and Moral Life, Daniel Hart and M. Kyle Matsuba
8. Self-Conscious Emotional Development, Michael Lewis
III. Cultural Influences
9. Shifting Meanings of Self-Conscious Emotions across Cultures: A Social-Functional Approach, Jennifer L. Goetz and Dacher Keltner
10. From Appeasement to Conformity: Evolutionary and Cultural Perspectives on Shame, Competition, and Cooperation, Daniel M. T. Fessler
11. A Cross-Cultural Examination of Lexical Studies of Self-Conscious Emotions, Robin S. Edelstein and Phillip R. Shaver
12. Cultural Models of Shame and Guilt, Ying Wong and Jeanne Tsai
13. Respect as a Positive Self-Conscious Emotion in European Americans and Chinese, Jin Li and Kurt W. Fischer
IV. Specific Emotions: Function and Conceptualization
14. Is Embarrassment a Blessing or a Curse?, Rowland S. Miller
15. The Nature of Pride, Jessica L. Tracy and Richard W. Robins
16. The Evolution of Shame as a Marker for Relationship Security: A Biopsychosocial Approach, Paul Gilbert
17. Humiliation Causes, Correlates, and Consequences, Jeff Elison and Susan Harter
18. Shame and Guilt as Morally Warranted Experiences, Tamara J. Ferguson, Daniel Brugman, Jennifer White and Heidi L. Eyre
V. Special Topics and Applications
19. Group-Conscious Emotions: The Implications of Others' Wrongdoings for Identity and Relationships, Brian Lickel, Toni Schmader, and Marija Spanovic
20. Shame and Guilt in Antisocial and Risky Behaviors, Jeffrey Stuewig and June Price Tangney
21. Wrestling with Nature: An Existential Perspective on the Body and Gender in Self-Conscious Emotions, Tomi-Ann Roberts and Jamie L. Goldenberg
22. Overvalued and Ashamed: Considering the Roles of Self-Esteem and Self-Conscious Emotions in Covert Narcissism, Jennifer K. Bosson and Jennifer L. Prewitt-Freilino
23. Runaway Nationalism: Alienation, Shame, and Anger, Thomas J. Scheff
VI. Assessment
24. Assessing Self-Conscious Emotions: A Review of Self-Report and Nonverbal Measures, Richard W. Robins, Eric E. Noftle, and Jessica L. Tracy