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The Recognition of Embarrassment

Birkbeck College, London University

Sarah E. Hampson

Birkbeck College, London University

Two experiments were conducted to determine whether embarrassment is a recognizable emotion independent of the nonverbal associates of humor. In the first experiment subjects attempted to identify embarrassment or amusement from silent videotape recordings presented under three viewing conditions: body, face, or face and body together. Correct recognition of embarrassment required both face and body cues while amusement required only facial cues. Embarrassment was incorrectly identified as amusement from facial cues. Experiment 2 investigated the relative importance of facial versus bodily cues for the recognition of embarrassment and amusement. Subjects, who viewed only the face plus body condition, indicated on a schematic drawing of a person which part they were utilizing to make their judgments. While the mouth signaled amusement, the eyes, hands, lower legs, and mouth were all important signals of embarrassment. The part played by amusement in an embarrassing incident is discussed in the light of these findings.

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