Capacity For Guilt

What makes people capable of feeling guilty? As Zahn-Waxler and Kochanska (1990) wrote, “The capacity for guilt is innate and universal; [only] its modes of expression are learned” (p. 232). Thus, some consideration of this innate capacity is a necessary point of departure for guilt theory. Clearly, guilt means feeling bad, and so the capacity for guilt presumably begins with a natural basis for feeling bad. Guilt must be understood as an unpleasant arousal akin to anxiety (Tennen & Herzberger, 1987). We propose two sources: empathic arousal and anxiety over social exclusion. Both of these are important, powerful sources of affect and motivation in close, communal relationships.
People are innately prepared to feel empathic distress in response