Dr. Linda Seward
Speech and Theatre Department
Middle Tennessee State University 37132
 
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Oh, goodness!
What’s a "shame" culture? >>

 

Shame and Guilt Cultures

(developed by Ruth Benedict)

Benedict focused on why people act the way they do. As an anthropologist who studied Japanese culture, she concluded that the U.S. is a guilt culture while Japan is a shame culture. (Note: one of the problems with her concept is that she used words that are found in common conversation. All languages have words that mean "guilt" and "shame" and we can all talk about having those feelings - but she is using them in a very specific way that is different from everyday conversation.)

The question she wanted to answer was: What is the motivation for people's actions?

She concluded that in:

Guilt Cultures

Shame Cultures

(like the U.S.)

(like Japan – and most of the world!)

Your actions reflect on you.

Your actions reflect on others (family, school, workplace).  You are more concerned with what other people think than what you think.

Ethics and truth are universal.  There should be one set of rules for everyone (in reality it may not always occur but it is considered desirable to attempt equal treatment).

Ethics and truth are situational. People are treated differently based on their status or position in society.  It would be illogical to try to treat everyone equally because they aren't equal!

 

If a person said, "After thinking about it, I have decided to (take an action that no one else is taking)," this would be regarded as:

 

Admirable in guilt cultures because you are standing up for your beliefs or principles.

Not admirable in shame cultures because you are going against the group.  Why is your idea better than the ideas of everyone else?

 

In disciplining children:

Parents in the U.S. often say: "You were bad; what you did was wrong."

Parents in Japan often say: "People will laugh at you.”

How does this concept work?

Here's an example: one of my former students worked in the international office of another university. She had tried numerous times to get a South Korean student to fill out forms so he could register for the next semester. Each time he put her off. When she learned of this concept, she realized that South Korea was probably a shame culture so the next time he came to the office, she said: "If you don't fill out these forms, the university will think you're from a bad family" - and he immediately sat down and filled out the forms!!!

To fully understand all that is involved, it helps to understand concepts of "face" - but since I don't have time to explain all of that, let me just point out that people in other cultures are often much more concerned with how their actions reflect on their family, their school and their workplace, in a way that most people from the U.S. are not. This is particularly important for you to understand if you stay with a host family.