Washing away your sins: threatened morality and physical cleansing.

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General Washing Away Your (Good or Bad) Luck: Physical Cleansing Affects Risk-Taking Behavior

The uncertain universality of the Macbeth effect with a Spanish sample.

Recently a psychological mechanism has been proposed between bodily purity and moral purity: the "Macbeth effect". The act of washing their hands seems to free individuals of their guilt. However, the universality of this psychological mechanism is an empirical question that should be studied. In four studies we replicated the original Zhong & Liljenquist's experiments with Spanish samples. We ...

BRIEF REPORT Washing Away Your (Good or Bad) Luck: Physical Cleansing Affects Risk-Taking Behavior

Many superstitious practices entail the belief that good or bad luck can be “washed away.” Consistent with this belief, participants who recalled (Experiment 1) or experienced (Experiment 2) an episode of bad luck were more willing to take risk after having as opposed to not having washed their hands, whereas participants who recalled or experienced an episode of good luck were less willing to ...

Hand Washing Induces a Clean Slate Effect in Moral Judgments: A Pupillometry and Eye-Tracking Study

Physical cleansing is commonly understood to protect us against physical contamination. However, recent studies showed additional effects on moral judgments. Under the heading of the "Macbeth effect" direct links between bodily cleansing and one's own moral purity have been demonstrated. Here we investigate (1) how moral judgments develop over time and how they are altered by hand washing, (2) ...

Washing away your (good or bad) luck: physical cleansing affects risk-taking behavior.

Many superstitious practices entail the belief that good or bad luck can be "washed away." Consistent with this belief, participants who recalled (Experiment 1) or experienced (Experiment 2) an episode of bad luck were more willing to take risk after having as opposed to not having washed their hands, whereas participants who recalled or experienced an episode of good luck were less willing to ...