ABSTRACT
The construct of lajjA is reviewed from philosophical, psychological, and cultural perspectives in the milieu of India. The review presents an indigenous, thick description of lajjA, which can be organized into six themes: (i) lajjA is a positive virtue employed by people in India in cultivating other virtues; (ii) lajjA is what guides people in making decisions about activities that we ought to do and those that we ought not to do; (iii) lajjA is an emotion that is found in many behavioral settings captured in literature, art, and dance; (iv) lajjA cuts across genders, but also captures important gender differences; (v) lexical analysis supports the finding that, though lajjA emerges in translations of shame or guilt, it is distinct from either of these constructs; and (vi) lajjA is a complex multidimensional construct, and its comparison with guilt or shame is flawed.
