Guilt vs Shame

Robin Low
3 min readDec 20, 2021

Years of socialization shaped humans so they feel shame because it conferred some kind of evolutionary advantage. For instance, it can potentially promote harmony by encouraging individuals to adhere to social norms and to co-exist with one another.

Shame makes us behave in less socially constructive ways; whereas, guilt promotes socially adaptive behavior. Shame and guilt are not the same. Like shame, guilt occurs when we transgress…

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Robin Low

Author, Traveler, Innovator. Focuses on Social Impact and Innovation.