Compliant Reactions to Guilt: Self-Esteem or Self-Punishment

Summary Two explanations for the consistent finding that compliant behavior increases following experimentally induced guilt were explored. Sixty male and female undergraduates classified as either guilt-induced or control Ss were asked to comply to a request to make phone calls to prospective Ss. In one condition, they were asked to tell prospective Ss a lie, while in the other condition they were merely asked to remind the Ss about the time and place of the experiment. The dependent measure was the number of phone calls an S was willing to make. It was hypothesized that guilty Ss would comply equally to both requests if the compliant behavior was a form of self-punishment, since punishment is a reasonable expectation following a transgression. If compliance were aimed at raising self-esteem, then guilty Ss should comply more to the nondeceptive request. Results indicated that guilt induced Ss were more willing to make nondeceptive phone calls than deceptive phone calls. Controls were equally willing to make either type of call. It was concluded that compliant behavior following induced guilt may be aimed at raising one's self-esteem back to some chronic, preinduction level.