Japanese Shame Culture and American Guilt Culture
作者：Lu Weijie
来源：《校园英语·上旬》2016年第05期

        【Abstract】Culture is an important factor contributing to the success of intercultural communication. In the east and west， there are many different cultures， among which Japanese shame culture and American guilt culture are two typical ones. Influenced by different cultures， these two countries have different characteristics， which reminds us that in intercultural communication culture should be paid much attention to.

        【Key words】shame culture； guilt culture； Japan； America

        1. Introduction

        With the rapid development of economy， intercultural communication is becoming more and more frequent. Conflicts are inevitable， but understanding others’ cultures can help avoid unnecessary conflicts. The differences between Japanese shame culture and American guilt culture reflects the huge gap between eastern and western cultures. In cultural anthropology， a shame culture is a society in which the primary device for gaining control and maintaining social order is the inculcation of shame and the complementary threat of ostracism. In contrary， in a guilt culture， control is maintained by creating and continually reinforcing the feeling of guilt for certain condemned behaviors.

Japanese Shame Culture and American Guilt Culture