Embarrassment
Abstract
Does there exist anyone who has never been embarrassed? Is there someone who has never felt the chagrin and abashment of the inadvertent social miscue? If so, such a person must be very uncommon; there may well be differences among us in our susceptibility to embarrassment, but the state seems so inextricably tied to our socialization and interaction that to be entirely immune to it would be rare indeed. This chapter will explore the nature and origins of this pervasive—and usually discomfiting—experience, cataloging the occasions in which it occurs, describing different rationales for its existence, reviewing the empirical literature, and generally speculating here and there. First, however, a descriptive analysis: What is it?
Keywords
Social Anxiety Nonverbal Behavior Aversive State Interaction Ritual Embarrassing SituationPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
- Amsterdam, B. K., & Levitt, M. (1980). Consciousness of self and painful self-consciousness. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 35, 67–83.PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Apsler, R. (1975). Effects of embarrassment on behavior toward others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32, 145–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Armstrong, W. D. (1974). The social functions of embarrassment. Dissertation Abstracts International, 35, 2479B.Google Scholar
- Aronson, E., Willerman, B., & Floyd, J. (1966). The effect of a pratfall on increasing interpersonal attractiveness. Psychonomic Science, 4, 227–228.Google Scholar
- Brown, B. R. (1968). The effects of need to maintain face on interpersonal bargaining. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology,4, 107–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Brown, B. R. (1970). Face-saving following experimentally-induced embarrassment. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 6, 225–271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Brown, B. R., & Garland, H. (1971). The effects of incompetency, audience acquaintanceship, and anticipated evaluative feedback on face-saving behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 7, 490–502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Buck, R., & Parke, R. D. (1972). Behavioral and physiological response to the presence of a friendly or neutral person in two types of stressful situations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 24, 143–153.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Buss, A. H. (1980). Self-consciousness and social anxiety. San Francisco: Freeman.Google Scholar
- Buss, A. H., Iscoe, I., & Buss, E. H. (1979). The development of embarrassment. Journal of Psychology, 103, 227–230.PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Buss, L. (1978). Does overpraise cause embarrassment? Unpublished manuscript, University of Texas, Austin.Google Scholar
- Coser, R. (1960). Laughter among colleagues: A study of the social functions of humor among the staff of a mental hospital. Psychiatry, 23, 81–95.PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Dann, O. T. (1977). A case study of embarrassment. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 25, 453–470.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Darwin, C. R. (1965). The expression of the emotions in man and animals. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Originally published 1873.)Google Scholar
- Devinsky, O., Hafler, D. A., & Victor, J. (1982). Embarrassment as the aura of a complex partial seizure. Neurology, 32, 1284–1285.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Druian, P. R., & DePaulo, B. M. (1977). Asking a child for help. Social Behavior and Personality, 5, 33–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Edelmann, R. J. (1982). The effect of embarrassed reactions upon others. Australian Journal of Psychology, 34, 359–367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Edelmann, R. J., & Hampson, S. E. (1979). Changes in non-verbal behavior during embarrassment. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 18, 385–390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Edelmann, R. J., & Hampson, S. E. (1981a). Embarrassment in dyadic interaction. Social Behavior and Personality, 9, 171–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Edelmann, R. J., & Hampson, S. E. (1981b). The recognition of embarrassment. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 7, 109–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Fink, E. L., & Walker, B. A. (1977). Humorous responses to embarrassment. Psychological Reports, 40, 475–485.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Fish, B., Karabenick, S., & Heath, M. (1978). The effects of observation on emotional arousal and affiliation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 14, 256–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Foss, R. D., & Crenshaw, N. C. (1978). Risk of embarrassment and helping. Social Behavior and Personality, 6, 243–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Garland, H., & Brown, B. R. (1972). Face-saving as affected by subjects’ sex, audiences’ sex, and audience expertise. Sociometry, 35, 280–289.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.Google Scholar
- Goffman, E. (1967). Interaction ritual. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.Google Scholar
- Gross, E., & Stone, G. P. (1964). Embarrassment and the analysis of role requirements. American Journal of Sociology, 70, 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Herold, E. S. (1981). Contraceptive embarrassment and contraceptive behavior among single young women. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 10, 233–242.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Horowitz, E. (1962). Reported embarrassment memories of elementary school, high school, and college students. Journal of Social Psychology, 56, 317–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Leary, M. R. (1982). Social anxiety. In L. Wheeler (Ed.), Review of personality and social psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 97–120 ). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
- Levin, J., & Arluke, A. (1982). Embarrassment and helping behavior. Psychological Reports, 51, 999–1002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Miller, G. A., & Miller, R. S. (1983). Reactions to the threat of embarrassment. Paper presented at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association, San Antonio, TX.Google Scholar
- Miller, R. S. (1979). Empathic embarrassment: Reactions to the embarrassment of another. Paper presented at the 87th Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, New York.Google Scholar
- Modigliani, A. (1968). Embarrassment and embarrassability. Sociometry, 31, 313–326.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Modigliani, A. (1971). Embarrassment, facework, and eye contact: Testing a theory of embarrassment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 17, 15–24.PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Morley, R. (1983). Pardon me, but you’re eating my doily. New York: St. Martin’s Press.Google Scholar
- Oleson, V. L., & Whittaker, E. W. (1966). Adjudication of student awareness in professional socialization: The language of laughter and silences. Sociological Quarterly, 7, 381–396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Sartre, J. P. (1958). Being and nothingness. New York: Citadel Press.Google Scholar
- Sattler, J. M. (1963). The relative meaning of embarrassment. Psychological Reports, 12, 263–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Sattler, J. M. (1965). A theoretical, developmental, and clinical investigation of embarrassment. Genetic Psychology Monographs, 71, 19–59.PubMedGoogle Scholar
- Sattler, J. M. (1966). Embarrassment and blushing: A theoretical review. Journal of Social Psychology, 69, 177–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Schlenker, B. R. (1980). Impression management: The self-concept, social identity, and interpersonal relations. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.Google Scholar
- Semin, G. R., & Manstead, A. S. R. (1981). The beholder beheld: A study in social emotionality. European Journal of Social Psychology, 11, 253–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Semin, G. R., & Manstead, A. S. R. (1982). The social implications of embarrassment displays and restitution behavior. European Journal of Social Psychology, 12, 367–377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Van Buren, A. (1978, February 17). Untitled. Gainesville Sun, p. 8B.Google Scholar
- Weinberg, M. S. (1968). Embarrassment: Its variable and invariable aspects. Social Forces, 46, 382–388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar