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Does Disgust Increase Unethical Behavior?

Author

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  • Denton Hatch
  • Tamar Kugler
  • Charles N. Noussair

Abstract

There is disagreement in the literature over the relationship between disgust and moral behavior. Some studies found that disgust leads to harsher judgements of unethical behavior; however, this claim has been called into question in studies (e.g., Johnson et al., 2016) which failed to replicate this result. Winterich, Mittal, and Morales (2014) report a number of experiments, all of which find that disgust increases unethical behavior. Their support for a positive relationship between disgust and unethical behavior runs counter in spirit to the findings that disgust elicits harsher condemnations of unethical behaviors. Motivated by this puzzle and the lack of consistency in the literature, we replicated three studies from Winterich et al. to better understand the relationship between disgust and unethical behavior. We observe no effect of disgust on unethical behavior in any of the three studies, thus further supporting the argument that disgust has no effect on ethical decision-making.

Suggested Citation

  • Denton Hatch & Tamar Kugler & Charles N. Noussair, 2020. "Does Disgust Increase Unethical Behavior?," Experimental Economics Center Working Paper Series 2020-08, Experimental Economics Center, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    • Handle: RePEc:exc:wpaper:2020-08
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    File URL: http://excen.gsu.edu/workingpapers/GSU_EXCEN_WP_2020-08.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Uri Gneezy, 2005. "Deception: The Role of Consequences," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(1), pages 384-394, March.
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