ABSTRACT
Shame and pride are interesting examples of cognitive and behavioral features that have invited a variety of functional explanations in recent research. This chapter shows that functional explanations of pride and shame, as they are offered by psychologists and anthropologists, entail holistic assumptions about what kinds of beings we are, why we do what we do, what is beneficial for us, and how we structure our social surroundings. It suggests that the functional explanations of pride and shame are eclectic explanations that entail elements of rational and interpretive modeling. There is an entire spectrum of claims about the possible functions of shame and pride to be found in the current psychological and anthropological literature. Shame and pride are complex emotional responses that according to theories prominent in psychology and anthropology are adaptations with roots in evolution that play a role in signaling high and low statuses within a group and thereby help to regulate social hierarchies.
