Quote Originally Posted by Jeff the Green View Post
A rather clever study, actually. They had some owners of dogs order their dog not to eat a treat and then leave the room. Then the scientists either had the dog eat it and leave evidence, had the dog eat it and cleaned up the evidence and replaced the treat, had the dog not eat it but make it look like it had, or had the dog not eat it and do nothing else. It didn't matter whether the dog actually did anything wrong; they only ever looked guilty if their owner scolded them.

Guilt and shame don't work like that. They're based on a comparison between self and a standard, not some external stimulus. Dog guilty looks are the equivalent of notpologies that an amoral politician gives when he wants to get out of a scandal but doesn't actually understand what he did that was wrong.
I mean...I pretty much only feel guilty when I get caught, but when I get caught it is "real" guilt.