Why Profound Disgust Makes People Sharper In Their Moral Judgments

Would you believe that watching a short film clip of something physically disgusting caused subjects to make stronger moral judgments afterward?

Well, that is indeed the case unless they had washed their hands after watching the film.

Another study suggests that washing hands lowers emotional arousal because it reduced the brightness of subjects’ pupils.

If this sounds too random to be true, let me introduce you to our brain where seemingly small events can cause detrimental effects.

Photo by Tachina Lee on Unsplash

The Macbeth Effect

When it comes to our own actions, we intertwine physical and moral purity.

In a study, Chen-Bo Zhong of the University of Toronto and Katie Liljenquist of Northwestern University showed that the brain has difficulty distinguishing between a dirty miscreant and one who needs a bath.

Subjects were asked to recount either a moral or an immoral act from their past.

The researchers then gave the volunteers a choice between a pencil and a pack of antiseptic wipes as a token of appreciation.

And the people who had just wallowed in their ethical failures were more likely to opt for the wipes.