Coping with shame: the role of self-reflective capacities in perceiving others as empathic

Shame is a complex negative emotion and transdiagnostic feature of psychopathology in which one feels there is something inherently wrong with oneself due to a negative self-evaluation. However, there are self-reflective capacities, such as mentalized affectivity and self-reassurance, that assist us in managing the emotional and cognitive impact. Mentalized affectivity, a component of mentalization, is a complex form of emotion regulation that involves an interest and appreciation of the internal states of self and others through the lens of one's past experiences. Similarly, self-criticism and self-reassurance are both processes in which one reflects and evaluates the self through either judgment or compassion. However, when mentalized affectivity and self-evaluation are maladaptive, individuals are subject to increased negative emotions and psychological distress. This study investigates how mentalized affectivity, self-criticism, and self-reassurance predict perceptions of empathy from others when faced with recall of shame-based experiences. Participants (N=246; 54.5% male) completed measures of mentalized affectivity, self-criticism, self-reassurance, and perceptions of empathy from others based on autobiographical memories of shame. Multiple regression revealed expressing emotions and self-reassurance as significant predictors of perceptions of empathy from others, suggesting how a combination of these forms of self-reflection may protect against the negative impact of shame. Our findings support the use of both mentalization-based and compassion-focused treatment to restore mentalization capacities and self-reassurance to reduce the impact of memories of shame.