A Theory of Guilt Appeals: A Review Showing the Importance of Investigating Cognitive Processes as Mediators between Emotion and Behavior
<b> </b>Guilt appeals in the field of persuasion are quite common. However, the effectiveness of these messages is sometimes ambivalent. It is widely acknowledged that guilt leads people to engage into prosocial behaviors, but the effects of guilt can also be counter-productive (e.g., re...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2019-11-01
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| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/9/12/117 |
| _version_ | 1828400393144500224 |
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| author | Graton Aurélien Mailliez Melody |
| author_facet | Graton Aurélien Mailliez Melody |
| author_sort | Graton Aurélien |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b> </b>Guilt appeals in the field of persuasion are quite common. However, the effectiveness of these messages is sometimes ambivalent. It is widely acknowledged that guilt leads people to engage into prosocial behaviors, but the effects of guilt can also be counter-productive (e.g., reactance-like effects). We argue that the explanations for these contradictions remain unsatisfactory and suggest that taking into account the implications of underlying cognitive—especially attentional—mechanisms would provide a better understanding of these paradoxical outcomes. This article provides a brief review of the literature on the link between guilt and pro-social behaviors and its classical interpretations. We propose a reinterpretation of this link by taking into account specific attentional processes triggered by the emotion of guilt. Attentional biases are, in our opinion, better predictors of the effectiveness of a message than the amount of emotion induced by the same message. This consideration should guide future research in the field of guilt appeals and pro-social behaviors. Implications, in terms of a broader comprehension of the emotion−behavior association in decision making processes, are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T09:31:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1baffa35ab954c0fa72e0ec70798d6da |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T09:31:38Z |
| publishDate | 2019-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-1baffa35ab954c0fa72e0ec70798d6da2022-12-22T01:54:20ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2019-11-0191211710.3390/bs9120117bs9120117A Theory of Guilt Appeals: A Review Showing the Importance of Investigating Cognitive Processes as Mediators between Emotion and BehaviorGraton Aurélien0Mailliez Melody1LIP/PC2S, Université Savoie Mont-Blanc and Université Grenoble Alpes, FranceISAE/SUPAERO, Université de Toulouse, France<b> </b>Guilt appeals in the field of persuasion are quite common. However, the effectiveness of these messages is sometimes ambivalent. It is widely acknowledged that guilt leads people to engage into prosocial behaviors, but the effects of guilt can also be counter-productive (e.g., reactance-like effects). We argue that the explanations for these contradictions remain unsatisfactory and suggest that taking into account the implications of underlying cognitive—especially attentional—mechanisms would provide a better understanding of these paradoxical outcomes. This article provides a brief review of the literature on the link between guilt and pro-social behaviors and its classical interpretations. We propose a reinterpretation of this link by taking into account specific attentional processes triggered by the emotion of guilt. Attentional biases are, in our opinion, better predictors of the effectiveness of a message than the amount of emotion induced by the same message. This consideration should guide future research in the field of guilt appeals and pro-social behaviors. Implications, in terms of a broader comprehension of the emotion−behavior association in decision making processes, are discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/9/12/117guiltemotionsattentionpersuasioncognitive processesdecision making |
| spellingShingle | Graton Aurélien Mailliez Melody A Theory of Guilt Appeals: A Review Showing the Importance of Investigating Cognitive Processes as Mediators between Emotion and Behavior Behavioral Sciences guilt emotions attention persuasion cognitive processes decision making |
| title | A Theory of Guilt Appeals: A Review Showing the Importance of Investigating Cognitive Processes as Mediators between Emotion and Behavior |
| title_full | A Theory of Guilt Appeals: A Review Showing the Importance of Investigating Cognitive Processes as Mediators between Emotion and Behavior |
| title_fullStr | A Theory of Guilt Appeals: A Review Showing the Importance of Investigating Cognitive Processes as Mediators between Emotion and Behavior |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Theory of Guilt Appeals: A Review Showing the Importance of Investigating Cognitive Processes as Mediators between Emotion and Behavior |
| title_short | A Theory of Guilt Appeals: A Review Showing the Importance of Investigating Cognitive Processes as Mediators between Emotion and Behavior |
| title_sort | theory of guilt appeals a review showing the importance of investigating cognitive processes as mediators between emotion and behavior |
| topic | guilt emotions attention persuasion cognitive processes decision making |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/9/12/117 |
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