Abstract Despite longstanding assumptions that embarrassment leads to avoidance, empirical findings remain inconsistent. This meta‐analysis synthesizes 152 independent samples ( N = 64,374) to clarify when and how embarrassment motivates avoidance. Drawing on Protection Motivation Theory, we find a curvilinear effect, where avoidance is strongest in moderately intense, embarrassing situations, but diminishes when embarrassment is either too weak to prompt concern or so intense that the consequences of avoidance become too severe to risk. This pattern underscores that avoidance is most likely when individuals perceive a moderate threat and believe avoidance is effective. Moderator analyses reveal that this effect is stronger for product‐related vs. medical contexts, when others are present, when embarrassment is anticipated (vs. experienced), and in collectivist cultures. Comparisons with guilt and shame further demonstrate that embarrassment operates through distinct, socially driven appraisals. These findings reconcile inconsistent findings in the embarrassment literature and offer guidance for reducing harmful avoidance by aligning threat and coping appraisals to promote engagement with socially sensitive behaviors. Implications for theory and practice, as well as future research priorities, are discussed.

The most prevalent form of training call center agents is via classroom instruction coupled with role-plays. Role-play training has a theoretical base in behavior modeling that entails observation, practice, and feedback. Emerging simulation-based technologies offer enhancements to behavior modeling that are absent in role-play training. This study evaluates the effectiveness of simulation-based training (henceforth, simulation training) as a behavior modeling technique vis-à-vis role-play training in a real-world call center environment across tasks of different levels of complexity. We collaborate with call centers at two Fortune 50 firms and examine on-job performance metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of simulation training. The performance measures of interest are call accuracy and call duration because these are two important factors that influence customer satisfaction and productivity in call center operations. After controlling for factors such as trainee's learning and technology orientation, age, education, and call center experience, results show that simulation training outperforms role-playing-based training in terms of both accuracy and speed of processing customer calls. Further, the relative superiority of simulation training improves at higher levels of task complexity.