Shame and the social bond: A sociological theory

Emotion has long been recognized in sociology as crucially important, but m ost references to it are generalized and vague. In this essay, I nominate s hame, specifically, as the premier social emotion. First I review the indiv idualized treatment of shame in psychoanalysis and psychology, and the abse nce of social context. Then I consider the contributions to the social dime nsions of shame by six sociologists (Georg Simmel, Charles Cooley Norbert E lias, Richard Sennett, Helen Lynd, Erving Goffman) and a psychologist/psych oanalyst (Helen Lewis). I show that Cooley and Lynd, particularly, mane con tributions to a theory of shame and the social bond Lewis's idea that shame arises from threats to the bond integrates the contributions of all six so ciologists, and points to toward future research on emotion, conflict, and alienation/integration.