By the way, I think it's significant that this is a psychologist who would identify a cultural stereotype in this way, as in the case of guilt, as being a worthless emotion. We've gotten to the point in society now we don't consider guilt as having any connection to any moral reality. Instead the stereotype is that it's a worthless emotion and we should get past it and deny it because it doesn't do us any good. Now this psychologist says it's not entirely worthless. There is some practical usefulness to guilt.
Guilt seems to benefit relationships.
I think the bad reputation seems to come from the idea that the person feeling guilty doesn't benefit. But the evidence shows that guilt depends on the interpersonal context. It's just not confined to yourself. Guilt is tied into some kind of interpersonal context. The writer also points out that guilt helps people in close relationships control each other's behavior.