Department of Marketing Management, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Cogn Emot. 2012;26(7):1189-207. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2011.640663. Epub 2012 Mar 7.
Guilt is considered by many researchers to be the hallmark social emotion. Guilt theories perceive guilt to be a negative emotion with positive interpersonal consequences, and empirical research has shown guilt to motivate prosocial behaviours aimed at restoring the relationship with one's victims. The current research questions the relationship-oriented nature of this emotion. Five experiments reveal that when a person repairs the transgressor's damage caused to a victim, the transgressor's guilt feelings, reparative intentions, and prosocial behaviour decrease. These findings suggest that it is not the relationship with the victim that is important in the regulation of guilt feelings, but rather the reparative actions that have been undertaken. Implications for theory and behavioural research on guilt are discussed.
许多研究人员认为内疚是具有标志意义的社交情绪。内疚理论认为内疚是一种具有积极人际后果的消极情绪，实证研究表明，内疚感会激发旨在修复与受害者关系的亲社会行为。本研究质疑这种情绪的关系导向性质。五项实验表明，当一个人修复了冒犯者对受害者造成的伤害时，冒犯者的内疚感、修复意图和亲社会行为都会减少。这些发现表明，在调节内疚感时，重要的不是与受害者的关系，而是已经采取的修复行动。讨论了这些发现对内疚的理论和行为研究的意义。
