Susana Conejero

Intensity of Habitual Guilt in Men and Women: Differences in Interpersonal Sensitivity and the Tendency towards Anxious-Aggressive Guilt

In this study we analyzed gender differences in the intensity of habitual guilt, as well as those in interpersonal sensitivity and the tendency towards experiencing feelings of guilt with a high anxious-aggressive component. The 360 participants (adolescents, young adults and adults) were asked to relate one of the situations that most frequently caused them to experience guilt and to rank its intensity and that of 9 other emotions they may have experienced at the same time on a 7-point scale. These scales were used to obtain the scores for the anxious-aggressive component of guilt. Two interpersonal sensitivity measures were used: the IRI Empathic Concern scale and an ad hoc measure focusing on the guilt produced by interpersonal events (Interpersonal Guilt). Habitual guilt was found to be more intense in women than in men in all age groups. The results suggest that this difference is linked to differences in interpersonal sensitivity and the tendency to experience types of guilt with a high anxious-aggressive component.

11 de Marzo y culpa colectiva

Resumen Participaron en el estudio 1410 personas de siete comunidades autónomas. Se aplicaron las escalas de Collective Guilt Acceptance y Whole Group Accountability de Branscombe, Slugoski y Kappen (2004) en dos versiones: a la mitad de la muestra se le pedía responder teniendo en cuenta que la autoría se atribuía a un grupo islamista; a la otra mitad se le pedía responder suponiendo que la autoría fuera de ETA. Además, se aplicó el DES. En esta prueba se preguntaba a todos los participantes “en qué grado sintió Ud.”—entre otras emociones—culpa cuando se creía en la autoría de ETA y cuando se supo que ésta correspondía a islamistas. Se encontraron claros sentimientos de culpa en los vascos en relación con la supuesta autoría de ETA, más intensos en quienes más se identificaban como tales. En todas las comunidades los participantes se manifestaron más de acuerdo con la idea de la responsabilidad colectiva en el supuesto de ETA. Entre los vascos, los opuestos al nacionalismo manifestaron mayor acuerdo con dicha idea que quienes mostraban simpatía hacia él. No obstante, la culpa en el supuesto de ETA aumentaba conforme aumentaba dicha simpatía.

Pride as moral motive: moral pride and prosocial behaviour / El orgullo como motivación moral: orgullo moral y conducta prosocial

Abstract Moral pride, namely the pride generated by morally positive behaviour, can foster prosocial behaviour. To demonstrate this, two quasi-experimental studies were conducted with nine- to 11-year-old children. Study 1 analysed the effect of the pride felt after engaging in prosocial behaviour, in four classrooms from two different schools (N = 94). Study 2 analysed the effect of the pride generated by the evocation of a past example of one’s own prosocial behaviour, in four classrooms from another school (N = 77). The hypothesis was supported in Study 1 but not in Study 2. Interesting correlations were found between dispositional moral pride (measured using a scale designed ad hoc) and other relevant variables in the moral field: intention to engage in prosocial behaviour, habitual prosocial behaviour and dispositional empathy. In general, these studies attest to the importance of moral pride, both dispositional and that felt in a specific situation, in moral life.

Antecedents of moral pride: the harder the action, the greater the pride?

The studys aim was to analyze if some specific types of action generate higher levels of moral pride. Three variables were analyzed: whether the actions involved going against the group majority, whether they involved a personal cost of a different kind and whether they were the result of a prior intention. Participants were 160 adolescents aged between 14 and 16. Sixteen scenarios were designed (two for each combination of the three variables) in which someone needed help. Half of the participants were presented with 8 of these scenarios, and half with the other 8. In each scenario, participants were asked to state what they would feel and do and how much pride they would feel if they helped. Curiously enough, both prosocial behaviors which involved going against the majority, F(1, 140) = 60.36, p = .001, η2 = .301 and those which involved a personal cost of a different kind, F(1, 140) = 10.17, p = .002, η2 = .068 generated less moral pride.

Moral pride, more intense in girls than in boys?

ABSTRACT Moral pride has been found to be a positive component of moral life. Nevertheless, this emotion has been the object of little attention and hardly any studies focus on gender differences in this regard. Is this emotion more intense in girls than in boys? Five studies on authentic moral pride, with sample groups in different age ranges (two with children and the other three with adolescents) and using different measures (moral pride scales and vignettes), were carried out to answer this question. When significant (Study 5, with adolescents) or marginally significant (Study 2, with children, and Study 3, with adolescents) differences were observed, they were always in favor of girls, but were fairly small. In the discussion, these results are interpreted in light of the feeling rules about pride in general and a series of guidelines are suggested for children’s education.

Gender differences in emotions, forgiveness and tolerance in relation to political violence

This study, which forms part of a broader research project, analyzes gender differences in: the intensity of diverse emotions, the justification of violence, attitudes towards the terrorist group ETA, forgiveness and tolerance. Participants comprised 728 people (45.5% men and 54.5% women) resident in either Basque Country or Navarra (Spain), representative of all national identities and political ideologies existing in this context. An ad hoc questionnaire was designed and administered between November 2005 and February 2006, a short time before ETA declared a ceasefire. Women reported more intensity in fear for political reasons and scored higher in two of the six measures of empathy included in the study (empathy with prisoners and empathy with those who suffer and think like oneself). Men scored higher in positive emotionality, indifference and Schadenfreude. Women perceived apology and forgiveness as more necessary elements for achieving peace than men. These results suggest that it may be beneficial for women to play a more prominent role in relation to the resolution of intergroup conflicts such as the one existing in the Basque Country.