Shame, ethical identity and conformity: Lessons from research on the psychology of social influence

Abstract

Understanding emotion is essential to developing an account of why people commit crime and how they react when caught. Research across a number of disciplines suggests that shame, which is the focus of this chapter, plays a significant role in how societies gain conformity (Barbalet, 1998; Benedict, 1946; Braithwaite, 1989; Scheff, 1988). The emotion has been described as significant in explaining whether individuals are likely to commit criminal offences (Grasmick & Bursik, 1990; Svensson, 2004; Tittle, Bratton & Gertz, 2003; Wikström, 2004), as well as how individuals respond to criminal justice interventions having been caught (Ahmed, Harris, Braithwaite & Braithwaite, 2001; Braithwaite, 1989; Retzinger & Scheff, 1996). While this breadth of inquiry suggests that shame is an important topic for criminologists, this chapter will draw on social psychological research to argue that current theoretical conceptions do not provide an adequate explanation of the role that shame plays in conformity or deviance. An alternative explanation based on the premise that shame reflects threat to an individual’s ethical-identity will be forwarded.

The first task in addressing this question is to explore the way in which shame has already been cast as an emotion that is central to explaining social conformity. Despite being described by many as an inherently social emotion it will be argued that limited attention has been given to understanding the social factors that lead to feelings of shame. We will then turn to some findings from research on social influence. These suggest that shame is unlikely to be an emotion that only reflects fear of disapproval by others. It is argued that the emotion should instead be conceptualised as a response to the perception of having violated an ethical norm, and that this involves threat to the individual's ethical identity. This conception of shame, which was developed as a consequence of an earlier research project (Harris, 2001), is then used to explain the way in which individuals respond to criminal justice interventions. Research that suggests individuals manage shame-related emotions in different ways is reviewed and it is argued that the reactions of others are critical in explaining how an individual responds to the threat shame poses to their identity. Finally, some possible implications for why individuals engage in crime are explored. It is proposed that commitments to moral norms, and conformity to social expectations, are dependent upon having an integrated ethical identity.