摘要：The differences between shame and guilt in Basque culture were investigated. Undergraduates answered a questionnaire —105 in Spanish and 57 in Basque language— consisting of situations hypothesized as prototypical of either vergüenza or culpa (lotsa and erru sentimendua, respectively, in Basque). They were asked to say what they would feel in each situation and to answer some questions aimed to assess the criteria that differentiate these emotions. The results showed that the limits between vergüenza and culpa and between lotsa and erru sentimendua are very similar. In vergüenza and lotsa there is a sense of exposure and the person has committed 1) a minor transgression, 2) a more serious transgression, but not a «moral» one, or 3) a «moral» transgression. In culpa and erru sentimendua the person commits a transgression that 1) harms a third person, or 2) goes against his/her own sense of what «should» be. The results supported the «public vs. private», «uncontrollable vs. controllable» and «hiding vs. reparation» criteria.
