Cross-Cultural Comparison of Regret, Time Perspective, and Shame and Guilt Proneness
Poster Number
04
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Psychology
Faculty Mentor
Merry Sleigh, Ph.D.
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to see if English and American university students differ in their time perspective, proneness towards shame and guilt, and/or regret. Our hypothesis was non-directional and exploratory due to limited previous research comparing British and American participants. Participants (n = 208) completed an online survey. We first had the participants complete the short form of Zimbardo’s Time Perspective Inventory (Keough, Zimbardo, & Boyd, 1999), which measures whether the participants are more future-or past-oriented. Next, we had the participants respond to the GASP (Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale), which is a commonly used tool to assess the extent of guilt and shame felt about things done or not done in a person’s life (Cohen, Wolf, Panter, & Insko, 2011). We also had participants respond to an open-ended question instructing them to describe an event in their lives they regretted the most. Results revealed that the two groups had similar types of regret, thoughts about the regretful situation, and proneness towards shame and guilt. However, Americans were more focused on the future, while English adults were more focused on the present. The more guilty participants felt about their regretted event, the more regret participants felt about their described situation and the less important the participants felt it was to forgive themselves. The two groups reported different patterns of seeking forgiveness: American adults felt it more important to seek forgiveness from the people they wronged and God, and less important to seek forgiveness from witnesses.
Start Date
24-4-2015 3:20 PM
End Date
24-4-2015 4:50 PM
Cross-Cultural Comparison of Regret, Time Perspective, and Shame and Guilt Proneness
Richardson Ballroom
The purpose of this study was to see if English and American university students differ in their time perspective, proneness towards shame and guilt, and/or regret. Our hypothesis was non-directional and exploratory due to limited previous research comparing British and American participants. Participants (n = 208) completed an online survey. We first had the participants complete the short form of Zimbardo’s Time Perspective Inventory (Keough, Zimbardo, & Boyd, 1999), which measures whether the participants are more future-or past-oriented. Next, we had the participants respond to the GASP (Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale), which is a commonly used tool to assess the extent of guilt and shame felt about things done or not done in a person’s life (Cohen, Wolf, Panter, & Insko, 2011). We also had participants respond to an open-ended question instructing them to describe an event in their lives they regretted the most. Results revealed that the two groups had similar types of regret, thoughts about the regretful situation, and proneness towards shame and guilt. However, Americans were more focused on the future, while English adults were more focused on the present. The more guilty participants felt about their regretted event, the more regret participants felt about their described situation and the less important the participants felt it was to forgive themselves. The two groups reported different patterns of seeking forgiveness: American adults felt it more important to seek forgiveness from the people they wronged and God, and less important to seek forgiveness from witnesses.
