An empirical-phenomenological investigation of being-ashamed
pp. 123-155
in: Ronald Valle (ed), Phenomenological inquiry in psychology, Berlin, Springer, 1998Abstract
This chapter presents a formulation of the essential lived structure of being-ashamed derived from an empirical-phenomenological analysis of the descriptions of various subjects' situated experiences of the phenomenon. The research project and its results, from which this chapter is derived, were originally reported in my doctoral dissertation (Vallelonga, 1986). It has been ten years since that dissertation was completed and defended, and at least 12 books have been written on shame in the interim (Albers, 1995; Bradshaw, 1988; Broucek, 1991; Fossum & Mason, 1986; Harper & Hoopes, 1990; Kaufman, 1989; Lewis, 1992; Middleton-Moz, 1990; Nathanson, 1992; Nichols, 1991; Potter-Efron, 1989; Tangney & Fischer, 1995). Given the publication of so many books (not to mention articles) on the topic, the reader may legitimately ask if there is anything left to say about this phenomenon. There is much to say!