ABSTRACT
In the social scenario of shame, the focus is centred on the experience—and the behaviours or omissions—of the shamed one: the person who experiences shame does so because of his flawed attributes or behaviours. Shame, an emotion that is also at times anticipatory and at times reactive, constitutes, in fact, a key guide for sociality and even for morality. Negative social emotions are self-referential while social in their origin. Conflicting narratives of social violence inhabited by perpetrators, victims, and witnesses constitute fascinating arenas where struggles for the privileged positions within the narratives take place. Social situations that trigger shame or humiliation vary according to the traits of the participants and of the context. In fact, the contrasting construction of the narratives of victimisation by those who define themselves as victims or as perpetrators is at the core of many interpersonal, institutional, and international disputes.
