Public shaming campaigns may backfire by evoking shame instead of guilt

Evidence

It may be that the actual process of shaming is designed to elicit guilt, and does so effectively. Nonetheless, it is possible that in at least some instances these efforts do indeed evoke shame rather than guilt. Insofar as shaming promotes anger, humiliation, and denial rather than empathy, guilt, and responsibility, shaming may harden rather than resolve the problem of human rights violations. — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 371

Interestingly, this process of moral consciousness-raising is often referred to as “shaming” (e.g., Risse, Ropp, & Sikkink, 1999). It may be that the actual process of shaming is designed to elicit guilt, and does so effectively. Nonetheless, it is possible that in at least some instances these efforts do indeed evoke shame rather than guilt. Insofar as shaming promotes anger, humiliation, and denial rather than empathy, guilt, and responsibility, shaming may harden rather than resolve the problem of human rights violations. — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 371

Categorization

• SEED: The counterintuitive core — that the ‘naming and shaming’ human rights strategy may well be manufacturing exactly the bar to repair it seeks — is a sharp essay hook.
• QUESTION: This predicts shame (not guilt) responses turn people toward anger, humiliation, and denial in intergroup contexts, relevant to the glorifier-attacher asymmetry later in the chapter.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 371
• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
• XREF: connects to: Guilt requires perceived control while shame arises from uncontrollable exposure — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 219; Naming-and-shaming policy fails when shame breeds no guilt or reparation — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 2081; Participants in wrongdoing can suffer from knowing it is shameful (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Naming-and-shaming policy fails when shame breeds no guilt or reparation #corroborates (0.95) — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 2081
• Guilt targets specific acts while shame taints the entire self #expands (0.90) — Emanuele Castano, On the Perils of Glorifying the In-group, 64
• Participants in wrongdoing can suffer from knowing it is shameful #complicates (0.72)
• Propaganda campaigns backfire by insulting audiences assumed ignorant #qualifies (0.70)