If you feel guilty a lot, you’re probably good at reading people’s emotions. Feeling guilt has long been linked with empathy, and studies show guilt-prone people have an enhanced capacity for seeing another person’s perspective and are therefore better able to analyze facial expressions. Shame, however, despite being a closely-related emotion, can have the opposite effect: people who often feel ashamed tend to have lower empathy levels, because the focus of shame is much more self-centered. Source Source 2