Shame, Pride and Workplace Bullying

EMOTIONS ARE INHERENT to human behaviour and social conflict (Lazarus 1991). They are central to understanding how individuals think about and respond to certain situations (Frijda and Mesquita 1994). This is particularly true for self-conscious emotions (eg, shame, pride), which often have been considered disruptive to everyday interactions (Fischer and Tangney 1995; Keltner 1995). The relevance of shame in explaining wrongdoing has long been supported by a body of psychological, sociological and criminological literature which suggests a link between shame, anger and antisocial behaviour (Ahmed et al 2001; Gilligan 1997; Lewis 1971; Scheff and Retzinger 1991; Tangney 1990). For example, Lewis (1971) has argued that unacknowledged shame provoked anger and angry reactions in her clients during psychotherapeutic sessions. Support for unacknowledged shame in triggering anger can also be found in studies using a variety of methodologies, such as videotaping of facial expressions (Retzinger 1991). While focusing on the non-adaptive aspects of shame, none of these researchers has denied adaptive aspects of shame.