There's a difference between embarrassment -- which some people describe as "secret joy," Heitler says -- and humiliation, which is a response to being shamed. "We often blush in embarrassment about something positive that has brought attention onto us," she explains. In other words, when we feel embarrassed, it's very likely because something good has happened (though embarrassment can also occur after a mishap or misdeed).
But even when embarrassment doesn't stem from something inherently positive, it can have good aspects to it. As Psychology Today reports, some theorists believe that embarrassment evolved as a means of signaling to others around us that we're sorry about any misbehavior or accidents and will try to do better in the future -- and that people who display embarrassment after a transgression may be more likely to be forgiven, trusted and even liked by their peers.