Do shaming and guilting ever produce actual positive change? As opposed to merely greater conformity/compliance to group norms?
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Shaming is “persecution lite”. It’s effective at indirectly forcing positive compliance/conformity but can also be easily abused to marginalize harmless difference.
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I assume it works on people who are already invested in following the lowest level of friction, or people who wish to be part of the particular perceived group's better side. For people immune to either, or those who might find flaws over time after the fact, it can aggravate
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Shaming and guilting ONESELF can have a positive change effect. It can be a motivating force to improve.
That said, the externalities of that are often negative moods and sadness.
So the question is: Is it worth being in a bad mood to produce positive change in oneself?
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I think about this a lot. My US Midwestern self is super uncomfortable with shaming, but the highest-functioning communities I've been in has someone (usually a woman) who goes around grabbing ears and hissing "be nice to the newb!"
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When someone has expressed a standard or value that they themselves would like to live up to, and they've done something that contradicts it, then I'd offer that saying personally "I'm really disappointed in you, I expected better of you" is truly unbeatable as a wake-up call.
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There's some evidence that acute stress increases levels of serotonin, and that serotonin can increase plasticity. If true, stress from guilt/shame could make change, positive or negative, easier (Search journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02 for "punishment")
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Yes, when it comes to pro-environmental / conservation behavior.
With Tax compliance : "When shaming turns into stigmatization, compliance is lower than when shaming is followed by reintegration."
China also using Shaming to curb jaywalking.
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I think shame and guilt are important tools in teaching children social interaction
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of course. it potentiates the opposition to greater conformity/compliance, in a way that would be at times positive and at times negative. think voltage










