The question, does shame belong to the basic emotions at all, is a 
matter of intense discussion. Not only is its universality unclear, but 
also its relatedness to particular situations. It is commonly accepted 
that the release of adrenaline plays a pivotal role for the emergence of 
a state that is perceived as shame. This linkage has various 
implications. One of them is that emotions generally consist of a bodily 
state, such as the release of adrenaline, which is then cognitively 
labelled as a certain emotion. The respective bodily symptoms, including 
blushing, could just as well be interpreted as, for example, anger, but 
due to specific circumstances, they are understood as a reaction of 
shame in certain situations. Another implication is that persons with 
inhibited or disturbed release of adrenalin, such as psychopaths or, as 
a milder form, sociopaths, won't feel shame, or only feel it to a lesser 
extent.

If we look at the issue of shame from a cross-cultural perspective, then 
we find that region matters less than the state of a person's cultural 
background within the spectrum from traditional, indigenous, to 
globalised culture. What we can generally say is that shame is not 
necessarily linked to sexuality. Rather, shame plays a vital role in 
traditional societies with regard to standardising the behaviour of the 
members of a society. For example, in archaic societies like those of 
the so-called pygmies, there is hardly any hierarchical stratification, 
and even if there are chiefs, they don't have much authority. But the 
society functions nevertheless, because anyone, who does not behave 
according to the standards, is laughed at by the others. That person 
usually feels very much ashamed, blushes, and won't repeat that mistake. 
Sexuality is totally banned from public life in traditional societies, 
so that some researchers even wondered how such indigenous societies 
produce their offspring. When outsiders say something that is only 
slightly tainted in any sexual way, or if they only make eyes to one of 
the indigenous ladies, that can result in extreme anger of the 
indigenous people, and those outsiders have to expect to be thrown out 
of the village immediately. Due to the absence of sexuality in these 
indigenous societies, it can only be hypothetically assumed that shame 
might play a role, if the communication of any sexual issue would be 
anticipated.

With regard to the process of cultural change from traditional to 
globalised lifestyle, it can be said that shame plays a role concerning 
the loss of nudity. It is relatively easy to impose that nudity-related 
shame on indigenous persons, but the reverse is very difficult. Once 
established, that shame could only be overcome when the persons 
concerned reflect their behaviour from a meta-level, and then 
consciously overcome it in a controlled way.