Archive · 19 Dec 2025
Study Links Harm, Responsibility to Guilt and Shame
Scientists did a study to see how guilt and shame work in our brains.
They made a game where people had to guess the number of dots and sometimes a fake person got a shock.
The scientists found that when people thought they hurt someone (harm), they felt more guilty.
When they thought they were responsible for the hurt, they felt more ashamed.
Guilt made people want to give more money to the hurt person.
The scientists also found that different parts of the brain light up when people feel guilty or ashamed.
One part helps us feel unfairness, another helps us decide what's valuable, and a third helps us control our thoughts.
The study also showed that people feel less responsible when they're in a group.
Harm causes stronger feelings of guilt, while responsibility causes stronger feelings of shame.
Guilt drives more compensatory behavior than shame.
The study used a 'dots estimation game' to evoke feelings of guilt and shame.
Distinct brain regions were involved in guilt and shame-driven compensatory behavior.
The study found that people feel less responsibility in group settings, a phenomenon known as responsibility diffusion.
- Who
- Researchers from Sun Yat-sen University, China
- What
- A study on the link between harm, responsibility, guilt, and shame
- When
- Not specified
- Where
- Sun Yat-sen University, China
- Why
- To understand the cognitive antecedents and neural mechanisms of guilt and shame
- Study Journal
- eLife
- Lead Author
- Ruida Zhu
- Institution
- Sun Yat-sen University, China
- Game Players
- 5 (4 deciders, 1 receiver)
- Brain Regions Involved
- Posterior insula, Striatum, Lateral prefrontal cortex