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Disgust as embodied moral judgment.


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Authors

Haidt, Jonathan 
Clore, Gerald L 
Jordan, Alexander H 

Abstract

How, and for whom, does disgust influence moral judgment? In four experiments participants made moral judgments while experiencing extraneous feelings of disgust. Disgust was induced in Experiment 1 by exposure to a bad smell, in Experiment 2 by working in a disgusting room, in Experiment 3 by recalling a physically disgusting experience, and in Experiment 4 through a video induction. In each case, the results showed that disgust can increase the severity of moral judgments relative to controls. Experiment 4 found that disgust had a different effect on moral judgment than did sadness. In addition, Experiments 2-4 showed that the role of disgust in severity of moral judgments depends on participants' sensitivity to their own bodily sensations. Taken together, these data indicate the importance-and specificity-of gut feelings in moral judgments.

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Keywords

Adult, Affect, Cognition, Female, Humans, Judgment, Male, Morals, Odorants, Social Perception, Surveys and Questionnaires

Journal Title

Pers Soc Psychol Bull

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0146-1672
1552-7433

Volume Title

Publisher

SAGE Publications