Coping with shame: the role of self-reflective capacities in perceiving others as empathic
Shame is a complex negative emotion and transdiagnostic feature of psychopathology in which one feels there is something inherently wrong with oneself due to a negative self-evaluation. However, there are self-reflective capacities, such as mentalized affectivity and self-reassurance, that assist u...
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PAGEPress Publications
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Research in Psychotherapy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.researchinpsychotherapy.org/rpsy/article/view/824 |
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| author | Georgia J. Bush Andrew F. Luchner |
| author_facet | Georgia J. Bush Andrew F. Luchner |
| author_sort | Georgia J. Bush |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Shame is a complex negative emotion and transdiagnostic feature of psychopathology in which one feels there is something inherently wrong with oneself due to a negative self-evaluation. However, there are self-reflective capacities, such as mentalized affectivity and self-reassurance, that assist us in managing the emotional and cognitive impact. Mentalized affectivity, a component of mentalization, is a complex form of emotion regulation that involves an interest and appreciation of the internal states of self and others through the lens of one’s past experiences. Similarly, self-criticism and self-reassurance are both processes in which one reflects and evaluates the self through either judgment or compassion. However, when mentalized affectivity and self-evaluation are maladaptive, individuals are subject to increased negative emotions and psychological distress. This study investigates how mentalized affectivity, self-criticism, and self-reassurance predict perceptions of empathy from others when faced with recall of shame-based experiences. Participants (N=246; 54.5% male) completed measures of mentalized affectivity, self-criticism, self-reassurance, and perceptions of empathy from others based on autobiographical memories of shame. Multiple regression revealed expressing emotions and self-reassurance as significant predictors of perceptions of empathy from others, suggesting how a combination of these forms of self-reflection may protect against the negative impact of shame. Our findings support the use of both mentalization-based and compassion-focused treatment to restore mentalization capacities and self-reassurance to reduce the impact of memories of shame.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-27aedcca37764749aaf020122c27bca8 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2499-7552 2239-8031 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | PAGEPress Publications |
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| series | Research in Psychotherapy |
| spelling | doaj-art-27aedcca37764749aaf020122c27bca82025-08-20T03:17:03ZengPAGEPress PublicationsResearch in Psychotherapy2499-75522239-80312025-04-0110.4081/ripppo.2025.824Coping with shame: the role of self-reflective capacities in perceiving others as empathicGeorgia J. Bush0https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4222-6087Andrew F. Luchner1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0161-5336Department of Psychology, Rollins College, FloridaDepartment of Psychology, Rollins College, Florida Shame is a complex negative emotion and transdiagnostic feature of psychopathology in which one feels there is something inherently wrong with oneself due to a negative self-evaluation. However, there are self-reflective capacities, such as mentalized affectivity and self-reassurance, that assist us in managing the emotional and cognitive impact. Mentalized affectivity, a component of mentalization, is a complex form of emotion regulation that involves an interest and appreciation of the internal states of self and others through the lens of one’s past experiences. Similarly, self-criticism and self-reassurance are both processes in which one reflects and evaluates the self through either judgment or compassion. However, when mentalized affectivity and self-evaluation are maladaptive, individuals are subject to increased negative emotions and psychological distress. This study investigates how mentalized affectivity, self-criticism, and self-reassurance predict perceptions of empathy from others when faced with recall of shame-based experiences. Participants (N=246; 54.5% male) completed measures of mentalized affectivity, self-criticism, self-reassurance, and perceptions of empathy from others based on autobiographical memories of shame. Multiple regression revealed expressing emotions and self-reassurance as significant predictors of perceptions of empathy from others, suggesting how a combination of these forms of self-reflection may protect against the negative impact of shame. Our findings support the use of both mentalization-based and compassion-focused treatment to restore mentalization capacities and self-reassurance to reduce the impact of memories of shame. https://www.researchinpsychotherapy.org/rpsy/article/view/824Shamementalizationself-reassurancementalized affectivityempathy |
| spellingShingle | Georgia J. Bush Andrew F. Luchner Coping with shame: the role of self-reflective capacities in perceiving others as empathic Research in Psychotherapy Shame mentalization self-reassurance mentalized affectivity empathy |
| title | Coping with shame: the role of self-reflective capacities in perceiving others as empathic |
| title_full | Coping with shame: the role of self-reflective capacities in perceiving others as empathic |
| title_fullStr | Coping with shame: the role of self-reflective capacities in perceiving others as empathic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Coping with shame: the role of self-reflective capacities in perceiving others as empathic |
| title_short | Coping with shame: the role of self-reflective capacities in perceiving others as empathic |
| title_sort | coping with shame the role of self reflective capacities in perceiving others as empathic |
| topic | Shame mentalization self-reassurance mentalized affectivity empathy |
| url | https://www.researchinpsychotherapy.org/rpsy/article/view/824 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT georgiajbush copingwithshametheroleofselfreflectivecapacitiesinperceivingothersasempathic AT andrewfluchner copingwithshametheroleofselfreflectivecapacitiesinperceivingothersasempathic |