ABSTRACT
Emotions are an essential part of our lives. They often develop during interpersonal interactions, and they are very likely to direct and energise subsequent behaviour. With respect to criminal behaviour, emotions often play a crucial role, as they are able to directly promote or inhibit crime. Therefore, emotions are a key factor when it comes to correctional treatment and the prevention of criminal recidivism. As there are many potential causes for emotions, attributional theories have identified basic properties – the causal dimensions – to highlight the common structure of the emotional landscape. In this way, guilt is often based on the perception of controllability, and elicits a desire for reparation of the previous misdeed. In contrast, shame occurs when people interpret the causes of their actions as uncontrollable and elicits a desire to turn away or leave the field. Thus, guilt may reduce the likelihood of recidivism, whereas shame does not – in fact, shame may even promote deviant behaviour (Auchter & Hilgers, 1994; Ferguson & Wormith, 2013).
