Consideration of Future Consequences Affects the Perception and Interpretation of Self-Conscious Emotions

Differentiating guilt from shame expressed by others is important because self-conscious emotions have disparate behavioral consequences. The present study examined whether a future-relevant nature of an event (i.e., future opportunity) and an observer (i.e., consideration of future consequences) can impact the perception and interpretation of shame and guilt experiences. Participants (N = 109) read a scenario that described a target person who neglected his duty on a team project, then rated their perceived intensity of the target’s shame and guilt and their estimation of future behavior change by the target. The results showed that the participants who cared about distant future consequences (i.e., high in consideration of future consequences) thought the target person would change in the future when they believed that the target person would have an opportunity (vs. no future opportunity) to change the outcome of the event. This effect was fully mediated by the guilt intensity ratings, indicating that guilt signals future behavior change. The implications for the value of communicating self-conscious emotions are discussed.