ABSTRACT
Shame has various functions, like warning the adolescent of a threatening, unpleasant emotion and regulating his own behaviour and adaptations in social intercourse. It consists of a physical, a cognitive and an affective component. Shame is the most powerful of the self-conscious emotions because the adolescent cannot hide from it. He usually feels guilt coming on, while shame is sudden and feels like a loss of control. Psychoanalysis emphasises the perception of shame at the moment the self, the identity. Whoever feels shame experiences aspects of himself that he would rather be rid of, but this would be denying a part of himself. From the perspective of developmental psychology, early precursors of shame are visible in the process of attachment and emotion regulation. The baby's disappointment when there is a failure in emotion regulation by the mother leaves him to his own devices and can cause him to avoid contact because he expects to fall short in eliciting consolation.
