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shame

·December 19, 2025·7 min read

Guilt and Shame Shape Behavior Through Separate Brain Pathways

uilt and shame arise from different cognitive triggers and rely on distinct neural systems to guide compensatory behavior. Using a controlled game that manipulated both harm and responsibility, researchers showed that guilt is more strongly driven by the severity of harm caused, while shame is more strongly shaped by how responsible someone feels for that harm. Guilt also more reliably translated into financial compensation, whereas shame required greater cognitive control to influence behavior.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 25, 2023·6 min read

Testosterone-Aggression Link: How Shame Proneness Affects Responses to Social Exclusion

Social exclusion, an experience that can pose threats to an individual's status and dominance, can lead to various behavioral responses potentially mediated by changes in testosterone levels. This study found that those with low levels of shame proneness showed heightened aggression when experiencing a rise in testosterone post-exclusion, whereas those with decreased testosterone demonstrated lower aggression.

Featured Psychology

·September 11, 2018·8 min read

The Universality of Shame

Researchers hypothesize shame may have been built into human nature by evolution because it served an important function for our foraging ancestors. The study reports an implicit mental map of how negatively others will perceive a person sets the level of shame they feel for their potential action.