Citation

Allam A, Kollareth D, Russell JA. J. Exp. Soc. Psychol. 2022; 103.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jesp.2022.104384

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The theory that suicide violates the moral domain of purity, whereas homicide violates the qualitatively different domain of autonomy, rests in part on the hypothesis that suicide, but not homicide, elicits disgust in a witness, taints the perpetrator's soul, and is judged immoral in a way relatively insensitive to the perpetrator's intention. In six studies (N = 320; 640; 320; 417 [pre-registered]; 320; 105), suicide failed to show these hypothesized markers of purity in the way predicted: Suicide elicited more sadness than disgust or grossed out. Suicide was judged immoral, tainting to the soul, and disgusting; but homicide was all of those things, only more so. Both suicide and homicide were equally responsive to intention. Judged immorality was correlated with the reported amount of disgust elicited for a case of suicide but also for violations of autonomy and community. © 2022 Elsevier Inc.

Language: en

Keywords

Judgment; Suicide; Emotion; Purity; Moral domains