title: Disgust as embodied moral judgment.
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.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, UK. simone.schnall@plymouth.ac.uk
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schnall
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haidt
authors.forename: Gerald L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Clore
authors.forename: Alexander H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Jordan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D009014:Morals; D009812:Odorants; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires