Embarrassment
A light, socially-triggered discomfort from an imagined or actual observed misstep — inherently requires an audience, briefer and lower-stakes than Shame.
How it shows up
Embarrassment follows a visible slip: tripping in public, calling a teacher by the wrong name, a phone ringing at a quiet moment. Many people blush, look down, laugh, or make a self-deprecating comment. Some researchers suggest these signals help smooth things over by showing others that we care about the norm. It is brief, needs a real or imagined audience, and is lower-stakes than shame.
How it differs from Shame
Embarrassment is a brief, light discomfort about a misstep others noticed; shame is a heavier sense that the self as a whole is deficient.
Notice
After an embarrassing moment, notice how long it stays with you, and how others actually seemed to react.
Where it is felt
Felt most in the face, chest and stomach.
Based on Nummenmaa et al. (2014), bodily maps of emotions, and related research. The map shows where people report bodily sensation, on average; individual experience varies.