Editing Guilt (emotion) (section)

=== Behavioral responses ===
Guilt proneness is a personality trait that reflects a tendency to feel negative emotions about one's own misdeeds, even when they are not known by others.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cohen |first1=Taya R. |last2=Panter |first2=A. T. |last3=Turan |first3=Nazli |title=Guilt Proneness and Moral Character |journal=Current Directions in Psychological Science |date=October 2012 |volume=21 |issue=5 |pages=355–359 |doi=10.1177/0963721412454874|s2cid=146370931 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/6705713 }}</ref> Guilt proneness is reliably associated with moral character.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cohen |first1=Taya R. |last2=Panter |first2=A. T. |last3=Turan |first3=Nazli |title=Guilt Proneness and Moral Character |journal=Current Directions in Psychological Science |date=October 2012 |volume=21 |issue=5 |pages=355–359 |doi=10.1177/0963721412454874|s2cid=146370931 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/6705713 }}</ref> Similarly, feelings of guilt can prompt subsequent [[Virtue|virtuous]] behavior. People who feel guilty may be more likely to exercise restraint,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Giner-Sorolla |first1=Roger |title=Guilty pleasures and grim necessities: Affective attitudes in dilemmas of self-control. |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |date=2001 |volume=80 |issue=2 |pages=206–221 |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.80.2.206 |pmid=11220441 }}</ref> avoid self-indulgence,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zemack-Rugar |first1=Yael |last2=Bettman |first2=James R. |last3=Fitzsimons |first3=Gavan J. |title=The effects of nonconsciously priming emotion concepts on behavior. |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |date=2007 |volume=93 |issue=6 |pages=927–939 |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.93.6.927 |pmid=18072846 }}</ref> and exhibit less prejudice.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Amodio |first1=David M. |last2=Devine |first2=Patricia G. |last3=Harmon-Jones |first3=Eddie |title=A Dynamic Model of Guilt: Implications for Motivation and Self-Regulation in the Context of Prejudice |journal=Psychological Science |date=June 2007 |volume=18 |issue=6 |pages=524–530 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01933.x |pmid=17576266 |s2cid=15468026 }}</ref> Guilt appears to prompt reparatory behaviors to alleviate the [[negative emotion]]s that it engenders. People appear to engage in targeted and specific reparatory behaviors toward the persons they wronged or offended.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cryder |first1=Cynthia E. |last2=Springer |first2=Stephen |last3=Morewedge |first3=Carey K. |title=Guilty Feelings, Targeted Actions |journal=Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin |date=May 2012 |volume=38 |issue=5 |pages=607–618 |doi=10.1177/0146167211435796 |pmid=22337764 |pmc=4886498 }}</ref> Guilt proneness is also an important predictor of [[trustworthiness]]. The sense of responsibility of guilt-prone people is strong and this makes them trustworthy.<ref name=psy2018>{{cite web | last=Emamzadeh | first=Arash | title=New Research Determines Who You Can Trust the Most | website=Psychology Today | date=20 Sep 2018 | url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-new-home/201809/new-research-determines-who-you-can-trust-the-most | access-date=13 Mar 2025 }}</ref>