GUILT, SHAME, AND FAMILY SOCIALIZATION - A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

In this study, we argue for the importance of guilt and shame for the process of socialization via the role of these reflexive emotions in i ndividuals' conformity to moral and social norms. Working from the ass umption that the self-concept is the basis for feelings of guilt and s hame, we test a number of hypotheses connecting the experience of thes e emotions to 3 styles of parental control (inductive, affective, and coercive). Undergraduate students (N = 270) completed questionnaires d esigned to assess their proneness to feelings of guilt and shame in si tuations of norm violations, and through retrospective reports the dis ciplinary practices of each of their parents. Results supported hypoth esized connections between inductive control and guilt, and between af fective control and shame. The associations between parental control, guilt, and shame in situations of intentional and unintentional norm v iolations differed depending on the gender of the parent relative to t he gender of the child and on the interaction of parental control with parental support, These associations and the implications of the use of affective control as a moral socialization strategy are discussed.