Remorse & Fear

They are quite different. They often accompany each other, but they are quite different. You can usually tell if someone is operating out of remorse or fear based on how they move after the consequences of their actions. Watch what their priorities are. Especially, as many people struggle to articulate their internal experience with precision. They maybe struggle to decode it themselves. This isn't a skill we generally teach with sufficient rigour. "I feel bad" is very broad. It is very ambiguous and very non-specific. Both remorse and fear would be coded "negative" in the average person. Both may land on the same side of an emotion wheel; both may somewhat simplistically and literally feel "bad". But they will often have different outcomes, whether that's to do with the action or processing to follow. Even somewhat subconsciously, I think people prefer actions that come out of remorse rather than fear. "People", as in witnesses, not those acting.

But remember, that person doesn't always know they are afraid. In fact, they often do not. There aren't always tangible outcomes to be afraid of. They could just have a sufficient number of experiences in their life where certain emotions displayed by others immediately translated to a threat. They may not know this deeper fear is what they're acting on. They may not know what drives them.