Immunological Effects of Induced Shame and Guilt

To determine if inducing self-blame would lead to increases in shame and guilt as well as increases in proinflammatory cytokine activity and cortisol. Based on previous research and theory, it was hypothesized that induced shame would be specifically associated with elevations in proinflammatory cytokine activity.Healthy participants were randomly assigned to write about traumatic experiences in which they blamed themselves (N = 31) or neutral...