A Reason to Feel Guilty?

by WiredBerries Editors — August 22, 2007

Feelings of guilt are no fun! Why can’t we do whatever we want and feel great afterwards? Well, the experts claim guilt plays a vital role in the regulation of social behavior. But psychologists haven’t always seen eye to eye on the exact function of this complex emotion. Why can’t we do without it?

Some researchers believe the feeling of guilt evolved because it keeps individuals from repeating bad behavior in the future. Others view the function of guilt in a societal context. Its function is to keep people’s behavior in line with the moral standards of their community.

New research conducted by New York University psychologist David M. Amodio found that it is really both. The researchers tested their questions about the functions of guilt as it relates to racism. The study found that people who were randomly told that their brain had registered a prejudiced response to pictures of minority faces were later more motivated to read literature on how to overcome prejudice. These findings suggest that although it feels bad, guilt plays a critical role in promoting pro-social changes in behavior. So, as it turns out, sometimes feeling bad is good.

Even so, it’s important to consider that just thinking you did something wrong (even if it isn’t necessarily true, as in the study) can cause guilty feelings to arise. While you shouldn’t ignore feelings of guilt, experts say the best thing you can do is apologize or make reparations for your mistake, if possible. Once you’ve done what you can—let it go!