Nicolay Gausel
Biography
I am currently employed at the University of Stavanger (Norway) as a full professor of psychology. I am a chartered psychologist with the British Psychological Society, and have my PhD in social psychology from the University of Sussex, UK. The aim of my research is to find out how we deal with the things we find difficult in our lives so we can better help each other. I therefore do research in social psychology and emotion psychology with an emphasis on morality, self-critical emotions and psychological defense, as well as the related topic of stigma. The work I and we do on emotions (e.g., shame, guilt, rejection) and morality have been applied not only in psychology but in business, electronics, neuroscience, criminology, philosophy, medicine, politics, climate work, economics, education, agriculture, marketing, peace work and many other fields. I hope our research can be of help to you or someone you know.
What is shame? Shame as a relational network of emotion-experience
Abstract: Shame is a complex emotion involved in how the individual relate with oneself, close others, and the society in which the individual finds herself. Although there is great disagreement what shame is, there is agreements. In this presentation, I will highlight how we can understand shame, how it affects the individual and its social relations, and what we can expect when people experience shame. Specifically, I will explain how shame involves an activation of the self through violation of internalized moral norm. I will explain how shame involves criticism of self by the self and the risk of criticism of the self by imagined or real others – in addition to be a motivator for action. I will also address issues currently debated within shame literature, such as ‘guilt versus shame’, how to understand ‘shaming’ and ‘moral failure versus competence failure’. I will discuss a growing controversy on whether shame promotes defensive, anti-social motivations or pro-social, approach motivations. I will discuss if shame can be defined, and how it can be measured. Finally, I will suggest directions ahead for shame researchers and therapists and encourage a view of moral emotions as an integrated process where appraisals, feelings and responses interact in a relational network.