Americans are motivated more by feelings of shame than conscience, according to a new study.

They worry more about their reputations and avoiding shame, than about guilt and fear, says LifeWay Research.

Scott McConnell, of LifeWay, says shame is an especially big motivator in the Internet age, where one mistake or embarrassing tweet can ruin a person's life. 

McConnell told Baptist Press, 'What's our biggest cultural fear? Shame. What's surprising is not that personal freedom, ambition, and doing the right thing are valued by Americans. It's that risk to our reputation is what matters most.'

This has affected the way churches present their faith.

'We wanted to know: are churches addressing the issues Americans care about most? Guilt says, I deserve to be punished. But shame says, I am worthless.'

In the survey, 1,000 people were asked three questions:

1. Which of these feelings do you seek to avoid the most?

2. Which of these desires is strongest in your life?

3. Which of these directions do you value the most?

Nearly four in 10 Americans say they avoid shame and three in 10 say guilt and fear. 

Those with degrees are more likely to avoid shame than those with high school diplomas or less.

Bob Smietana writes: 'Shaming has been a part of American life since the days of The Scarlet Letter. Set among the Puritans, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, a young mother forced to wear a scarlet "A" after committing adultery, considered a crime at the time.' But Americans gave up on public shaming of criminals in the 1830s, according to journalist Jon Ronson, author of So You've Been Publicly Shamed.