In trying to promote social change how effective is shame?

It's been effective in the past (basing this on Freakonomic's breakdown of how the Klu Klux Klan was decreased, mostly (well, both theories involved shame, i.e. "frown power") and there are other examples) - complience to social norms is about fear of being shamed quite frequently, it works.

(And despite Doodlebug's answer, there are as many if not more anti-female comments. Most of Freud, for a start.)

However, the shame needs to be more than a vocal opinion expressed by a few, it needs to be perceived as a social judgement (something held in common by most of the people) and even then, it's not 100%. But it is one way society modifies behavoir, often quite naturally as social norms change.

Shame may be somewhat effective in changing attitudes, but it would seem to have little influence on behavior. For instance, the religious right has spent a great deal of time, effort and money in recent years, trying to shame women away from terminating pregnancies.

However, the percentage of pregnancies ending in termination (in 1986 it was 26%. In 2006, 24%) has changed only slightly in twenty years, and that change is credited to HIV awareness, and increased condom usage.

I think the messages and slogans shaming men promoted by the feminists movement have worked surprisingly well e.g.

"All men are rapists and that's all they are" - Marilyn French, 'The Women's Room'

"I believe that women are the more spiritually advanced sex" Erica Jong, Washington Post, December 6, 1992

"We are, as a sex, infinitely superior to men." - Elizabeth Cady Stanton, in 'One Woman, One Voice'

"Men are the enemies of women" – Professor Ann Oakley (1984) in 'Taking It Like a Woman'.

I think if you get brought up to accpet that these things are just simple facts of life - as I was - you don't tend to question them. Yes, its Orwellian.

i dont know about any studies done but if you think about how you feel when people tell you what you do is wrong you will be an idea...most of the time people get either defensive or they go along with it for a short time...not that great at producing change

Effective as it may or may not be, it should be avoided.

Modern objective domestic violence studies have drifted from the power & control module to currently considering shame to be the root cause of abuse. Things like insecurity, guilt etc. play powerful dynamics in a persons psyche creating a tendency to abuse or tolerate abuse.

I don't think that shame works, because people tend to get defensive or self-righteous when faced with guilt tactics, unfortunately.

It really depends entirely on who you are using it against. Some people, have no capacity for shame.

the 50's tried to tell the 60's and 70's that sex was shameful.

didn't work too well, huh?

It's an effective short-term solution, but you can't rely on negative reinforcement forever.

I wish. I'm tired of seeing some of the crap going on just because it can be gotten away with