A Hobbesian Theory of Shame

On most accounts present in the literature, the complex experience of shame has the injury to self‐esteem as its main component. A major objection to this idea is that it fails to differentiate between shame and disappointment in oneself. I argue that previous attempts to respond to the objection are unsatisfactory. I argue further that the distinction should refer to the different ways the subject's self‐esteem is formed. A necessary requirement for shame is that the standards and values by which the subject judges himself are borrowed from a canon of values the subject accepts as a given. The proper focus of shame is the fact of conformity to that canon. Those agents who have a different conception of self‐esteem and who freely set and alter their own values are prone to self‐disappointment, but not to shame.     

Integrating Content and Structure Aspects of the Self: Traits,Values, and Self‐Improvement

Research on the structure of the self has mostly developed separately from research on its content. Taking an integrative approach, we studied two structural aspects of the self associated with self‐improvement—self‐discrepancies and perceived mutability—by focusing on two content areas, traits and values. In Studies 1A–C, 337 students (61% female) reported self‐discrepancies in values and traits, with the finding that self‐discrepancies in values are smaller than in traits. In Study 2 (80 students, 41% female), we experimentally induced either high or low mutability and measured perceived mutability of traits and values. We found that values are perceived as less mutable than traits. In Study 3, 99 high school students (60% female) reported their values, traits, and the extent to which they wish to change them. We found that values predict the wish to change traits, whereas traits do not predict the wish to change values. In Study 4, 172 students (47.7% female) were assigned to one of four experimental conditions in which they received feedback denoting either uniqueness or similarity to others, on either their values or their traits. The results indicated that feedback that one's values (but not traits) are unique affected self‐esteem. Integrating between theories of content and structure of the self can contribute to the development of both.     

Cracking the Code of Genocide: The Moral Psychology of Rescuers,Bystanders, and Nazis during the Holocaust

What turns neighbors into genocidalists? Why do some stand by, while others risk their lives to help? A narrative analysis of interviews with rescuers, bystanders, and Nazi supporters during World War II focuses attention on self‐image, worldview, and cognitive categorization as critical influences. Rescuers, bystanders, and Nazis demonstrated dramatically different self concepts, yet identity constrained choice for all groups. A critical aspect of identity is relational: the sense of self in relation to others. Worldview, canonical expectations, and idealized cognitive models are critical determinants, with the ethical importance of values emanating not from particular values but from the integration of these values into the speaker's sense of self. Finally, cognitive categorization carries strong ethical overtones. The dehumanization that spurs perpetrators and the sense of moral salience that drives rescuers work through the cognitive classification of “the other.”     

Self‐affirmation,political value congruence,and support for refugees

This research tested the potential for self‐affirmation on left‐ and right‐wing political values to increase behavioral intentions to provide help and assistance to refugees. We present a pilot study defining left‐ and right‐wing values, and a main study in which participants completed either a self‐affirmation task, a group‐affirmation task, or participated in a control condition on values that were either congruent or incongruent with their own political views. Results show that left‐wing oriented participants showed more supportive intentions in the self‐affirmation condition compared to the group‐affirmation and control conditions, independent of values congruency. In contrast, right‐wing participants showed more supportive intentions in the self‐affirmation condition, but only when they affirmed on values that were congruent with their own political views.     

Doing the best you can: a study of values in a group of nun educators

A group of experienced and well‐qualified nun educators were interviewed regarding their experiences and values. A recurrent phrase occurring in the interviews was ‘Doing the best you can’. This phrase served to both justify and anticipate statements. A questionnaire was constructed to encourage elaboration of the phrase and to detect differentiated responses regarding self and pupil. The questionnaire was administered to a larger group including the original participants. Their responses to the questionnaire yielded eight underlying values. The values were employed somewhat differently with regard to self and pupils. The values were consistent with the core values of the order. The values did not relate particularly to putative female organizational values. The mixed method employed facilitates an in‐depth analysis of discourse to elicit values and other underlying constructs.     

No genuine self‐forgiveness without accepting responsibility: Value reaffirmation as a key to maintaining positive self‐regard

Measures of self‐forgiveness that merely focus on the outcome of positive self‐regard risk neglecting the process through which offenders restore it. They may thus tap pseudo self‐forgiveness where offenders downplay their responsibility for the wrongdoing. For genuine self‐forgiveness, the process should instead involve an attenuation of the negative link between responsibility acceptance and positive self‐regard. In this paper, we examine how acts of value reaffirmation facilitate genuine self‐forgiveness. In Study 1, a role‐play experiment (N = 90), participants either confessed their wrongdoing to the victim or not. Although responsibility acceptance was strongly negatively related to reported self‐forgiveness (i.e., self‐regard), this relationship was tempered when participants confessed their wrongdoing to the victim and, through this, reaffirmed the violated values. In Study 2, a longitudinal study referring to self‐reported transgressions (N = 74), responsibility acceptance was negatively related to self‐forgiveness measures as well as self‐esteem when offenders showed little value reaffirmation, but not when they more strongly reaffirmed the violated values. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Attitude Change Toward Animal Experimentation in an Academic Setting

Social values theory was used to examine how parents make decisions for their adolescent children. Social values theory states that decision making for others is based on the social value of an action, leading to a norm for how to decide for others, whereas self decisions are influenced by a number of additional factors. Consistent with a risk-aversion norm, in hypothetical health and safety scenarios parents made more risk-averse decisions for their adolescent children than for themselves. Further, the level of risk and inconvenience affected self decisions more than decisions for one's child. A second study showed that the norm was stronger for decisions for one's child than for oneself and more related to parents’ decisions for their child than for themselves. In sum, parents’ decisions for their children seem to be largely determined by a norm stating how they are supposed to decide, at least in the domain of health and safety. Implications for both the judgment and decision making and parenting literatures are discussed.     

Attachment security,values, and prosocial attitudes

The objective of this study was to determine whether individuals with different attachment styles held different prosocial values and attitudes given their different models of self and of others. A sample of 717 university students completed the ECR ‐S (Experiences in Close Relationships‐Spanish) and the PVQ (Portrait Values Questionnaire), and evaluated different prosocial attitudes. The results showed that secure individuals reported higher scores on self‐transcendence and in the value self‐directions of the dimension openness to change , whereas insecure individuals had higher scores on conservation and self‐enhancement . No differences were found in the attitudes of individuals with different attachment styles. These findings show a link between the dimensions of the universal values theory, and the models of self and of others.     

'It's like there are two people in my head': a phenomenological exploration of anorexia nervosa and its relationship to the self

This study explores the lived experience of anorexia nervosa from the perspective of those who use pro-recovery websites for eating disorders. Fourteen people participated in an online focus group or an e-interview. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Participants described their disorder as a functional tool for avoiding and coping with negative emotions, changing their identity and obtaining control. A central theme was the experience of an 'anorexic voice' with both demonic and friendly qualities. This voice felt like an external entity that criticised individuals and sometimes dominated their sense of self, particularly as anorexia nervosa got worse. Applying dialogical theory suggests a new model of anorexia nervosa, where the anorexic voice is a self-critical position, which disagrees with and attempts to dominate the more rational self. It is suggested that to move on from anorexia nervosa, the individual needs to address his/her anorexic voice and develop a new dominant position that accepts and values his/her sense of self.     

‘It's like there are two people in my head’: A phenomenological exploration of anorexia nervosa and its relationship to the self

This study explores the lived experience of anorexia nervosa from the perspective of those who use pro-recovery websites for eating disorders. Fourteen people participated in an online focus group or an e-interview. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Participants described their disorder as a functional tool for avoiding and coping with negative emotions, changing their identity and obtaining control. A central theme was the experience of an ‘anorexic voice’ with both demonic and friendly qualities. This voice felt like an external entity that criticised individuals and sometimes dominated their sense of self, particularly as anorexia nervosa got worse. Applying dialogical theory suggests a new model of anorexia nervosa, where the anorexic voice is a self-critical position, which disagrees with and attempts to dominate the more rational self. It is suggested that to move on from anorexia nervosa, the individual needs to address his/her anorexic voice and develop a new dominant position that accepts and values his/her sense of self.     

The change in perceived motor competence and motor task values during elementary school: A longitudinal cohort study

Participation in motor activities is essential for social interaction and life satisfaction in children. Self‐perceptions and task values have a central position in why children do or do not participate in (motor) activities. Investigating developmental changes in motor self‐perceptions and motor task values in elementary school children would provide vital information about their participation in motor activities. We therefore examined the change in, and associations between, self‐perceptions and task values of fine motor competence, ball competence, and athletic competence in 292 children from kindergarten to grade 4. We also investigated differences between boys and girls, and between children with motor problems and typically developing children. Results indicated that self‐perceptions and task values are domain specific and differ between boys and girls, but not between children with motor problems and typically developing children. Self‐perceptions were not associated with task values. Educators should address specific self‐perceptions to enhance participation into the corresponding motor activities in children between kindergarten and grade 4, and differences in self‐perceptions and task values between boys and girls should be taken into account.     

Two selves and online forums in China

Chinese society is characterized by emerging fragmentation and by the coexistence of traditional and Western values, goals and norms. In this multifaceted environment bi‐cultural selves, which encompass social and individual orientations, may emerge. The aim of this paper is to explore if features of bi‐cultural selves concerning interactions, emotions, and values are reflected in online public discussions in China. In order to address this question, we explored two of the most popular bulletin board systems (BBSs): Tian Ya and Feng Huang Forums. BBSs attract almost one third of Internet users in China and provide these users with a forum to carry out public dialogue; BBSs are thus an ideal place to study how the self is socially shaped in public communication. A sample of 6109 messages was subjected to quantitative content analysis. Results show that twofold self‐construal, corresponding to the individual‐ and social‐oriented self, are (also) detected in BBSs forum content: direct and polemic content coexist with conciliatory content; ego‐focused and other‐focused emotions are almost equally as frequent as one another; and traditional values are evoked together with the quest for truth and individual rights. Moreover, three typologies of Internet users (proactive, ambivalent, and follower), which were identified on the basis of the quality of their online interactions, show different patterns of emotions and values. We may thus conclude that alternative ways of constructing self‐other and self‐society relationships currently coexist in China and that these alternative views confront each other on BBS forums.     

Self‐Affirmation: Understanding the Effects

Self‐affirmation theory proposes that individuals possess a flexible self‐system, such that they can respond to threats in one domain of life by affirming self‐worth in other domains. In social psychology research, this has been examined in studies where people affirm important values in the context of self‐threatening events or information. This paper reviews the literature demonstrating the effects of values affirmations and proposes a theoretical account to understand how self‐affirmations reduce defensiveness in response to threats to individuals' health, attenuate physiological stress responses to laboratory and naturalistic stressors, and improve academic performance among individuals experiencing identity threat. The proposed model has three components: Self‐affirmations boost self‐resources, broaden the perspective with which people view information and events in their lives, and lead to an uncoupling of the self and the threat, reducing the threat's impact in affecting the self. This model helps explain what occurs when individuals affirm values in the context of threats, and how self‐affirmations may instantiate lasting effects through changing the nature of ongoing experience.     

“Do human values matter for promoting brands on social media? How social media users' values influence valuable brand‐related activities such as sharing,content creation,and reviews”

Companies consider social media‐based consumer engagement behaviors such as sharing, content creation, and reviews for brands as more valuable than “liking” or consuming brand content. Studies show that branded content shared or created by consumers on social media may drive more brand awareness and loyalty than “likes” (Adweek, 2013). Global companies are increasingly focusing their efforts on motivating consumer‐driven content creation (e.g., Coca‐Cola #shareacoke and Apple #ShotoniPhone; Sprout Index, 2018). However, marketing practitioners are only recently beginning to understand social media audiences who engage in such activities (Adweek, 2018). This study posits that human values can be used to identify and segment audiences for social media‐based valuable brand activities. Three online surveys were conducted with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram users (ages 18–34) on Amazon Mechanical Turk (N = 491). The relationship between social media users' values and their reported social media activities was examined. Findings indicate that the human values examined (conservation, self‐enhancement, openness to change and self‐transcendence) are significant drivers of valuable brand‐related social media activities. Companies should address conservation‐driven users in order to elicit brand sharing and creation activities. Companies should target conservation‐driven users for sharing promotions, self‐enhancement‐driven users for sharing informational content and writing of product reviews, and openness to change‐driven users for user‐generated content. Bussinesses should further highlight their corporate social responsibility efforts as a negative relationship is found between users' self‐transcendence values and brand activities. Recommendations are provided on how brandscan address users' values in their social media marketing to motivate sharing of branded content and content creation.     

Personal Values and Intended Self‐Presentation during Job Interviews: A Cross‐Cultural Comparison

This study examined the impact of personal values on intended self‐presentation during job interviews among German, Ghanaian, Norwegian, and Turkish students (total N= 1,474). We also sought to explain cultural differences in self‐presentation among these groups. The Cultural Impression Management Scale for applicants (CIM‐A) and the Portrait Values Questionnaire were administered. A multigroup MIMIC model with invariant measurement and structural weights was supported, in which achievement, security, and benevolence values predicted a latent impression management factor. Intended impression management scores were significantly higher in the Ghanaian and Turkish samples than in the Norwegian and German samples. Values (achievement and security) accounted for 19.6 per cent of the cross‐cultural differences in self‐presentation. Adding acquiescence as an additional predictor (interpreted here as a measure of communication style) decreased the cross‐cultural differences by 52.8 per cent. It is concluded that values are similarly related to intended self‐presentation across these four groups, even though the cross‐cultural differences in mean scores in both sets of variables were considerable.     

Parent–child value similarity in families with young children: The predictive power of prosocial educational goals

Value transmission from one generation to the next is a key issue in every society, but it is not clear which parents are the most successful in transmitting their values to their children. We propose parents’ prosocial educational goals as key predictors of parent–child value similarity. Accordingly, we hypothesized that the more parents wanted their children to endorse values of self‐transcendence (helping, supporting, and caring for others) and the less parents wanted their children to endorse the opposing values of self‐enhancement (striving for power and achievement), the higher would be parent–child overall value similarity. Findings from two studies of families – Study 1: 261 Swiss families, children aged 7–9 years; Study 2: 157 German families, children aged 6–11 years – confirmed this hypothesis. The effect was even stronger after controlling for values that prevail in the Swiss and German society, respectively. We integrate evidence from this study of values in families with young children with existing findings from studies with adolescent and adult children, and we discuss potential pathways from parents’ educational goals to parent–child value similarity.     

Applicants' Self‐presentational Behavior across Cultures: Less self‐presentation in Switzerland and Iceland than in the United States

Do US findings on applicants' self‐presentational behavior generalize to other countries? We argue that applicants in some countries are less motivated to present themselves favorably than applicants in others because countries vary in their unemployment rate (leading to differences in competition between job applicants) and their endorsement of modesty values, influencing their beliefs regarding self‐presentation. Using the randomized response technique, we obtained prevalence data on applicants' self‐presentational behavior from Iceland and Switzerland and compared them with previously published US results. The prevalence rates of self‐presentational behavior were fairly comparable in Iceland and Switzerland but significantly lower than in the United States. These results caution against using the same hiring strategy for all applicants from different cultures.     

An individual's work values in career development

This study examined the mediation effect of career decision self‐efficacy in relation to work values and career decision status. The authors surveyed 308 college students about their own intrinsic (e.g., helping others) and extrinsic (e.g., high income) work values and those of significant others, career decision self‐efficacy, and career decision status. The results indicated that the intrinsic and extrinsic work values of significant others were related to the intrinsic and extrinsic work values of the self and that intrinsic work values were more adaptive than extrinsic work values in career development.     

Did I do that? Self–esteem–related differences in reactions to romantic partners’ moods

This study examined the relation between self–esteem and responses to a romantic partner's moods. College students in dating relationships imagined one scenario in which their romantic partners were in a positive mood and one in which their partners were in a negative mood. A probable source of each mood was suggested to half the participants. Participants reported their cognitive, affective, behavioral, and attributional responses to each scenario. When the partner's mood was negative and ambiguous in cause, participants with low self–esteem felt more responsible for the mood, more rejected, and more hostile than did those with high self–esteem. A mediational analysis suggested a dependency regulation explanation of the results, such that low self–esteem people perceived self–directed negativity in their partners’ bad moods and in turn responded with more negativity toward their partners.     

Parents' child‐rearing values and beliefs in the United States and Russia: the impact of culture and social class

Parents' values for their children and their beliefs about appropriate child‐rearing practices contribute to the ways in which they try to shape their children's development. This paper examines the values and beliefs of 71 parents (37 mothers and 34 fathers) from two cities in the United States and Russia. Half of the families were middle class (determined by education and occupation criteria) and half were working class. The results revealed no cross‐societal differences in value for self‐direction in the children; perhaps reflecting the recent economic and ideological changes in Russia. In contrast, significant social class differences, for both mothers and fathers, were found in child‐rearing values and beliefs. Middle class parents in both societies were more likely to value self‐direction and believe that children should have freedom in and around the home, whereas working class parents were more likely to believe that children should be expected to conform to rules. The results of this study underscore the role of within‐society heterogeneity, as a function of social class, in parents' values and beliefs about child‐rearing.