Embarrassment as a Signal

What it is

Matthew Feinberg, Robb Willer and Dacher Keltner found that people who embarrassed more easily reported more prosocial tendencies and behaved more generously, and that observers rated embarrassed people as more prosocial, trusted them more and wanted to affiliate with them. Visible embarrassment, like blushing, works as a hard-to-fake sign of concern for others.

In effect

In the article on why we feel awkward, it is the reassuring finding: the awkwardness people dread often makes them look better to others.

What it does not say

It concerns mild, everyday embarrassment. It does not say that embarrassment is pleasant or that it should be sought.

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