Shame, Guilt and Anger

Abstract

Redness of the face is characteristic of anger as well as of embarrassment although it is labelled a flush rather than a blush. Casimir and Schnegg (2002) found that the colour red was associated with shame in 78 of the 98 languages they surveyed; of the 78, 51 also associated red with anger and 48 associated it with rage. Correspondence analysis showed that shame, anger and rage clustered along with the colour red at one pole of a dimension, and at the other pole the colour white formed a cluster with shock, pain and fear. Of course, in English we do talk of blushing with shame, flushing with anger, and going pale or white with fright and shock (‘his face was ashen’; ‘she turned white as a ghost’).

Up to that moment he had only partly believed in her guilt, but he no longer had any doubt when he saw how she changed colour. It was partly anger, partly shame.

(O’Connor, 1973, p. 49)