Shaming and Shunning

The application of shame and shunning as a means to control behaviors that society views as undesirable is not new. Almost every religious and cultural tradition throughout the world has referred to the role that shame can have for controlling behavior. From the first European settlement in Massachusetts to the modern day, criminal justice systems in the United States have utilized the application of shame and shunning as one of the main objectives of punishment.

The concept of shaming has its intellectual roots in the sociological conception of the ...