Shame On You: An Exploratory Study of Shame in the an African American Community

No process or experience goes without influence from the culture through which it operates. Culture is an instruction manual of the attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and values of an organization or population of people that is passed down through the generations; emotions are not free from its grasp. Just as there are subculture operating within the dominant culture, emotion subcultures exist, which inform its participants on how to express, experience, and interpret emotions. In a study conducted by Mastsumoto (1993), there is empirical evidence that suggests that there are differences in how different ethnic groups perceive emotions. This study aims to investigate the emotion culture of an African American community as applied to the emotion shame, an understudied and often misunderstood emotion. Utilizing data from the MIDUS II Survey, an exploratory study on how African Americans perceive and experience shame is conducted. Results show difference by age and gender. In conclusion, I discuss the limitations of the study, and future avenues for research.