Embarrassment and Shame Shame is a social emotion which has to do with our social status and and observance of norms. We feel shame when we embarrass ourselves, offend other people, or feel that someone else disapproves of us. It serves the purpose of discouraging us from risking our social status or mate prospects, but it generally does more harm than good.21 No matter how prepared we are, we cannot help being afraid of embarrassment when public speaking. No matter how inaccurate or irrelevant to our values, an insult from another person stings for days after we receive it.
