Guilt must be studied as an emotional experience, not merely a responsibility judgment

Evidence

It is important to recognize that the word “guilt” can be used to refer to both an emotional response (“I feel guilty”) and a judgment of responsibility (“I am guilty”). Obviously, the two usages are related, however, our work is derived from a conceptualization of guilt first and foremost as an emotional experience. As such, our approach is grounded in basic research on emotion and strives to describe the interpretative process by which a person proceeds from a simple awareness that a negative intergroup event has taken place to having an emotional reaction and a behavioral response to that event. — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 286

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies that the chapter treats guilt as an emotion grounded in an interpretive process, distinct from guilt-as-judgment.
• XREF: connects to: Guilt can be felt for one’s group’s moral violations without personal responsibility — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 146; Personal guilt arises from internal attributions for controllable harmful outcomes — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 144

Broader Connections

• Personal guilt arises from internal attributions for controllable harmful outcomes #complicates (0.85) — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 144
• Guilt can be felt for one’s group’s moral violations without personal responsibility #exemplifies (0.82) — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 146