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Conceptual and Lexical Knowledge of Shame in Italian Children and Adolescents

University of Padova, Italy

Valeria Donati

Unità Sanitaria of Modena, Italy

In the present study, the development of knowledge of nonmoral shame in Italian children and adolescents was investigated. The issues addressed were: (a) how the development of the ability to identify appropriate antecedents of shame is achieved (Experiment 1); and (b) the acquisition of the ability to use linguistic labels to refer to this emotion (Experiment 2). Two cross-sectional experiments were conducted with participants aged from 5 years 8 months to 18 years 5 months. In the first experiment, participants were asked for an antecedent of shame; in the second, they were asked to describe an emotion for each of the six antecedents proposed in the experimental setting. Results showed that the conceptual structure of shame is developed during primary school. Among adolescents, however, the need for privacy emerged, and "embarrassment" was given more frequently than shame. In both experiments participants were asked for an explanation of the emotional experience of shame. Correspondence analysis on the explanations given in Experiment 1 showed that two dimensions underlie the conception of shame: The first, which develops in primary school, is intersubjectivity and consideration of the group. The second, which develops during adolescence, is intrasubjectivity and consideration of personal motives. The analysis of the explanations given in Experiment 2 showed that, when the word "shame" was produced, the explanation focused mainly on the fear of being exposed to an audience.

International Journal of Behavioral Development, Vol. 23, No. 4, 873-897 (1999)
DOI: 10.1080/016502599383586


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