Abstract
Shame and guilt proneness are negative emotional dispositions that diverge in their behavioral responses. After a wrongdoing, shame tends to have a maladaptive influence on behavior, and guilt tends to have an adaptive influence on behavior. The current study sought to investigate shame and guilt tendencies among children and adolescents in a real-world context that has all the characteristics to generate these feelings: the hockey penalty box. We surveyed children and adolescent ice hockey players with experience serving time in the penalty box (N = 123). Findings showed that players who were higher in guilt proneness recalled experiencing more guilt-related feelings and cognitions in the penalty box than players lower in guilt proneness. The different cognitions relate to more anticipation of improving their playing. Players higher in shame proneness experienced more shame-related feelings and cognitions than players lower in shame proneness, which was related to more self-blaming. These findings have implications for the development and consequences of prosocial behaviors.
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Notes
Explicit shaming is most developed in Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia—home of the Vancouver Canucks—due to the behavior of the Green Men. The Green Men are two individuals who have purchased seasons tickets next to the opposing team’s penalty box. At each home game, they don full-body spandex suits and taunt occupants of the penalty box throughout the game. For an example see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO_Bn4CVbYk.
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Murrar, S., Isenberg, N., Niedenthal, P. et al. Shame and guilt among ice hockey players in the penalty box. Motiv Emot 43, 940–947 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-019-09786-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-019-09786-6