How do different coping strategies affect embarrassment, and how does gender influence this effect in a public setting?

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1 | 25-06-2019

How do different coping strategies affect

embarrassment, and how does gender

influence this effect in a public setting?

Elisa Thiescheffer

S3523438

July 8th, 2019

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1. Introduction

› Embarrassment

▪

Embarrassment can be defined as feeling exposed, inadequate and awkwardly self-consciousness

(Modigliani, 1968)

▪

Goffman

(1956)

defines embarrassment as loss of dignity and disability to part take in an encounter due

to undesirable events arising, representing breakdowns in the social encounters

(Dahl et al., 2001)

.

- The term ‘public identity’ can be defined as characteristics displayed to others in a particular situation (Reysen, Landau

& Branscombe, 2012; Sherwood, 1965; Tetlock & Manstead, 1985)

› Coping strategies

▪

The concept of coping can be defined as “cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage troubled ‘person -

environment encounters’”

(Folkman & Lazarus, 1988a)

▪

Whilst experiencing negative emotions including stress and embarrassment, individuals may use

coping strategies to reduce and/or discard the emotion

(Carver, Scheier & Weintraub, 1989; Folkman, Lazarus, Dunkel-Schetter, DeLongis & Gruen, 1986)

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1. Introduction

TABLE I

Coping strategies

Coping strategy Explanation

Planful problem-solving

Full attention to the problem, to come up with a plan of action, which “can

affect emotional response in two ways: plans of action ultimately changing

emotional response, or direct affect on cognitive appraisal”

(Stein et al., 1990)

.

Confrontive coping

Because it is more aggressive and can be slightly hostile, it is more prone to

trigger negative emotions in the confronted person. This can lead to a

decrease in the person-environment relationship

.

Positive reappraisal

This can generate positive emotional responses, whilst lessening the

negative ones through selective attention. Often individuals try to find

positive meaning in harm already done, after which emotions like pride and

satisfaction can arise

.

Distancing

This can help get individuals through highly stressful situations and

facilitate its problem solving. Here individuals often try to detach

themselves. Also, “a person acknowledges the troubling problem but doesn’t

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1. Introduction

› Gender

▪ In general, females tend to experience emotions more strongly and more explosive than males do (Miller, 1996). Building

on this, Miller (1996) further argues that women thus experience negative emotions, including shame, embarrassment and

guilt more strongly

- Different upbringing

▪ The embarrassment surrounding these sex related purchases is additionally felt more strongly by women (Miller, 1992)

› Public purchase setting

▪ The purchase setting refers to whether consumers decide to physically enter a store, or visit a store privately through its

website. Previous research argues that to risk obtaining a negative public identity or social image in the minds of others,

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2. Hypotheses

Five hypotheses emerge from the detailed conceptual model. These are as follows:

› H1: The planful problem-solving coping strategy has a

negative

influence on

embarrassment

› H2: The positive reappraisal coping strategy has a

negative

influence on

embarrassment

› H3: The confrontive coping coping strategy has a

positive

influence on

embarrassment

› H4: The distancing coping strategy has a

positive

influence on embarrassment

› H5: Gender effects the different coping strategies chosen in a public purchase

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4. Method

› Pretest:

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4. Method

› Experiment: Survey

▪ Survey on Qualtrics (quantitative data)

▪ Respondents were reached through social media network (Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Instagram)

▪ 206 respondents, Millennials (born between: 1980-2000), participated (61.7% females, average birth year: 1994.42

)

▪ Mixed design: 4 x 2 levels

TABLE II

Variables Research

Concepts

Variable Type

1. Embarrassment

Dependent Variable

2. Coping strategies

Independent Variable

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4. Method

TABLE III Coping strategies scale

Coping scale 4 point likert scale

1. Planful problem-solving 0,1,2,3,NA (never used-regularly used & NA)

2. Positive reappraisal 0,1,2,3,NA (never used-regularly used & NA)

3. Confrontive coping 0,1,2,3,NA (never used-regularly used & NA)

4. Distancing 0,1,2,3,NA (never used-regularly used & NA)

TABLE IV Embarrassment scale

Embarrassment 7 point likert scale

1. Embarrassment Not embarrassed at all-very embarrassed

2. Uncomfortable Not uncomfortable at all-very uncomfortable

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5. Results

Table V

Males and coping strategies

Model N Mean Std. Deviation

Planful problem-solving 77 2.61 .784

Confrontive coping 77 2.17 .763

Positive reappraisal 77 2.26 .647

Distancing 77 2.43 .714

Table VI

Females and coping strategies

Model N Mean Std. Deviation

Planful problem-solving 126 2.19 .819

Confrontive coping 126 1.93 .674

Positive reappraisal 126 2.15 .581

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5. Results

› Additional analysis and control variables:

▪

Control variables

- Education (-), nationality (-) and birth year (+) all turned out not to have a significant effect on the relation between

coping strategies and embarrassment.

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5. Results

Table X

Results hypotheses

Hypotheses

Result

H1: The planful problem-solving coping strategy has a negative influence on embarrassment

√

H2: The positive reappraisal coping strategy has a negative influence on embarrassment

-

H3: The confrontive coping coping strategy has a positive influence on embarrassment

-

H4: The distancing coping strategy has a positive influence on embarrassment

-

H5: Gender effects the different coping strategies chosen in a public purchase setting against

embarrassment positively

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6. Discussion

› Conclusions

›

The interaction effects between gender and the coping strategies on embarrassment were all insignificant. It cannot be

concluded that gender had a moderating effect on the relation between coping strategies on embarrassment.

›

The level of embarrassment an individual experiences decreased. The result is in line with the findings of Folkman and

Lazarus, stating that it is “associated with an improved emotion state” (Folkman & Lazarus, 1988)

›

It was predicted, the level of embarrassment would decrease. This was not reflected back in the results. Positive reappraisal

“was associated with improved emotional states” (Folkman & Lazarus, 1988)

› It was predicted the level of embarrassment would increase. This did not reflect back in the obtained results. This did not align with literature: Folkman and Lazarus expressed it worsened emotion states, as expressing negative emotions can make one feel worse.

› The level of embarrassment was predicted to increase, but this did not reflect back in the results. According to Folkman and Lazarus, distancing is hard to achieve, but did have a link to negative emotions. It is also hard to sustain.

› Gender had a positive and significant effect on embarrassment. females were more prone to experiencing negative effects of embarrassment than males. However, when it comes to the effect of gender on just the coping strategies, males appeared to have a higher score when it came to the usage of coping strategies than females.

H1

H2

H3

H4

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6. Discussion

› Limitations

› Eliminated responses

› Factor analysis and VIF scores

› Social media - personalities

› Fictative situation

› Not all WCQ items tested

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6. Discussion

› Implications for practice

▪

Making the store display window more subtle

▪

The store can put a sign outside with a slogan on it that unconsciously lessens the

consumer’s embarrassment, encouraging them to enter the store

› Theoretical contributions

▪

Females appeared to be more prone to experiencing embarrassment, and showed

distancing to be the most prominent coping strategy

▪

Planful problem-solving has the largest significant embarrassment reduction effect on

embarrassment

› Future research

▪

Investigate the situation using virtual reality or interviewing actual consumers entering sex

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References

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› Miller, R. (1996). Embarrassment: Poise and peril in everyday life (Emotions and social behavior). New York: Guilford Press.

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