The Effects of Embarrassment

Everyone, even you, has experienced the feeling of embarrassment at least once in your life. While many people associate this feeling of shameful, awkward, embarrassment in a negative way, it can be a very good thing for our social lives and believe it or not, it plays a role in evolution.

While the feeling of embarrassment makes our cheeks rosy and gives us a self-conscious feeling on our guts, it shows others that we are trustworthy, makes you prepared for new challenges, and establishes social order. Those who show signs of embarrassment were seen as more trustworthy individuals and more likely to be forgiven. Anticipating an embarrassing moment makes you prepared for harder challenges in life, and feeling embarrassed also reconciles the social order so no one overly offends anyone.

Embarrassment is a natural response. 65% of employees have embarrassed themselves at work. In response to embarrassment, 33% of people apologize, 22% crack a joke,  21 % pretend it didn’t happen, and 6% leave the room.

Spilling food is one of the top three most embarrassing moments according to a survey.

It is inevitable that everyone has experienced this gut wrenching feeling before, so there is no reason to feel embarrassed about having embarrassing moments in life. “I can’t even count the number of times I have embarrassed myself”, says Riley, a former Pennridge student, “I think the most embarrassing moment I have had was when I fell up the stairs during graduation”. A Senior at Pennridge high school Maddie says her most embarrassing moment was spilling milk all down herself in elementary school. “The thought of myself walking the hallways with a wet shirt and pants still haunts me to this day”, says Maddie. 

Next time you find yourself in an embarrassing situation, don’t fret. Embarrassment is a healthy reaction and shows you’re a prosocial person with a trustworthy personality. Embarrassment doesn’t have to bring us down, it can boost our most valuable traits.