  Shame has clear biological roots and its precise form of expression affects
social cohesion and cultural characteristics. Here we explore the relative
importance between shame and guilt by using Google Translate to produce
translation for the words shame, guilt, pain, embarrassment and fear to the 64
languages covered. We also explore the meanings of these concepts among the
Yanomami, a horticulturist hunter-gatherer tribe in the Orinoquia. Results show
that societies previously described as 'guilt societies' have more words for
guilt than for shame, but the large majority, including the societies
previously described as 'shame societies', have more words for shame than for
guilt. Results are consistent with evolutionary models of shame which predict a
wide scatter in the relative importance between guilt and shame, suggesting
that cultural evolution of shame has continued the work of biological
evolution, and that neither provides a strong adaptive advantage to either
shame or guilt. We propose that the study of shame will improve our
understanding of the interaction between biological and cultural evolution in
the evolution of cognition and emotions.
