》Embarrassment or awkwardness is an emotional state that is associated with mild to severe levels of discomfort, and which is usually experienced when someone commits a socially unacceptable or frowned-upon act that is witnessed by or revealed to others.
》Embarrassment is considered one of the self-conscious emotions, quite at ease in the company of guilt, shame, and pride.
》Embarrassments usually result from accidental behaviors that lead you to feel negatively about yourself--even when you had no intention of violating a social standard.
》According to researchers, most of the embarrassments that are encountered by people include:
instances of tripping and falling,
spilling drinks,
ripping pants,
stalling cars,
having one's private thoughts or feelings disclosed,
accidental flatulence or belching,
receiving undesired attention,
and forgetting the names of others
》Human signals of embarrassment include:
a downward gaze,
smile controls (such as a smile that is inhibited or one where only the corners of the lips turn upward),
head movements that turn away, and face touching
》Embarrassment seems likely to serve three basic functions.
First, it serves as an appeasement gesture to others by signaling that the violation was unintended and that it will not likely be repeated.
Second, the intense dread of experiencing this emotion likely deters us from repeating whatever behaviors triggered the state.
(Thus, embarrassment is seen as a social counterpart to physical pain. Just as physical pain alerts us to threats to our physical well-being, embarrassment alerts us to threats to our social well-being (possible rebuke and rejection).
Third, embarrassment motivates us to undo the social damage and restore the esteem of others. As we will see, several studies bolster these functional accounts.
》Embarrassment likely evolved to maintain social order, since in being embarrassed people communicate to others that they recognize and regret their misbehavior and will try to do better
》Researchers have found that people who display embarrassment at their social transgressions are more prone to be liked, forgiven, and trusted than those who do not, and, as a result, their embarrassment saves face
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Psychology Facts
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