Shame as a self-conscious emotion and its role in identity formation

The aim of this paper is to discuss the possibility of using the category of shame, understood as one of the self-conscious emotions, in helping to explain human functioning, especially in regard to the process of identity formation. An analysis of different theoretical accounts of shame draws attention to the considerable differences that exist between them. These differences raise the fundamental question of whether shame can be treated as an adaptive emotion, playing a vital and constructive role in identity development, or as a destructive emotion, which disrupts the process of development including also the sphere of identity formation. In the article this problem is analyzed with reference to studies on the identity formation process conducted within the neo-eriksonian approach. The main thesis put forward in the present elaboration states that shame has significant importance for the identity formation processes, however, it does not influence these processes directly. An important mediator seem to be the mechanisms of emotion regulation. It has been assumed that the destructive and disrupting influence of shame is not an immanent feature of this emotion, but rather a consequence of malfunctioning mechanisms of emotion regulation that include the mechanisms of shame regulation.