On the assumption that shame is a universal emotion, cross-cultural research on shame relies on translations assumed to be equivalent in meaning. Our studies here questioned that assumption. In three studies ( N s, 108, 120, 117), shame was compared to its translations in Spanish ( verguenza ) and in Malayalam ( nanakedu ). American English speakers used shame for the emotional reaction to moral failures and its use correlated positively with guilt , whereas verguenza and nanakedu were used less for moral stories and their use correlated less with the guilt words. In comparison with Spanish and Malayalam speakers’ ratings of their translations, American English speakers rated shame and guilt to be more similar to each other.

中文翻译：

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羞耻是一种特定于文化的情感概念

假设羞耻是一种普遍的情感，关于羞耻的跨文化研究依赖于假设意义相同的翻译。我们在这里的研究质疑了这一假设。在三项研究（N s，108、120、117）中，将羞耻感与西班牙语（verguenza）和马拉雅拉姆语（nanakedu）的翻译进行了比较。美国英语使用者使用羞耻感来表达对道德失败的情感反应，而羞辱感与内感呈正相关，而Verguenza和nanakedu在道德故事中的使用较少，而与内感词的相关性则较低。与说西班牙语和马拉雅拉姆语者的翻译评分相比，说英语的美国人对耻辱感和内感的评价更高。