Turning shame inside-out: "humiliated fury" in young adolescents

Sander Thomaes, Hedy Stegge, Tjeert Olthof, Brad J. Bushman, John B. Nezlek
2011 Emotion  
The term "humiliated fury" refers to the anger people can experience when they are shamed. In Study 1, participants were randomly exposed to a prototypical shameful event or control event, and their self-reported feelings of anger were measured. In Study 2, participants reported each school day, for 2 weeks, the shameful events they experienced. They also nominated classmates who got angry each day. Narcissism was treated as a potential moderator in both studies. As predicted, shameful events
more » ... de children angry, especially more narcissistic children. Boys with high narcissism scores were especially likely to express their anger after being shamed. These results corroborate clinical theory holding that shameful events can initiate instances of humiliated fury.
doi:10.1037/a0023403 pmid:21604873 fatcat:fd5noehvjvfpvexd7frcm2wfde