“Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to.” – Mark Twain
“Blushing is the color of virtue.” Diogenes Laertius
According to Edward Gross,PhD, a University of Washington professor who has studied embarrassment for decades, embarrassment has four key elements:
– There must be a failure for which you feel responsible.
– Usually it happens suddenly, or in a way that doesn’t give you enough time to adjust.
– It must be in public or take place in a manner in which the public is aware of the situation
– One must value the opinion of others who witnessed the ‘goof’
Gross goes on to say, “Be aware of the person who can’t be embarrassed. That rare individual may consider his position, intelligence and status so lofty, he care not what others think.”
According to Matthew Feinberg, a doctoral student at UC Berkeley, Gross is spot on.”Our data suggests embarrassment is a good thing, not something you should fight.”
Why? Well apparently those who are easily embarrassed are just better people. They tend to be more trustworthy, generous and more likely to be monogamous. “Embarrassment is one emotional signature of a person to whom you can entrust valuable resources. It’s part of the social glue that fosters trust and cooperation in everyday life,” said the co-author Robb Willer, a psychologist.
The next step in this study is to determine whether overly confident people aren’t as trustworthy.
