Lady Macbeth effect explained

The supposed Lady Macbeth effect or Macbeth effect is a priming effect said to occur when response to a cleaning cue is increased after having been induced by a feeling of shame. The effect is named after the Lady Macbeth character in the Shakespeare play Macbeth; she imagined bloodstains on her hands after committing murder.

Background

In one experiment, different groups of participants were asked to recall a good or bad past deed, after which they were asked to fill in the letters of three incomplete words: "W_ _H", "SH_ _ER" and "S_ _P". Those who had been asked to recall a bad deed were about 60% more likely to respond with cleansing-related words like "wash", "shower" and "soap" instead of alternatives such as "wish", "shaker" or "stop".[1]

In another experiment, experimenters were able to reduce choice-supportive bias by having subjects engage in forms of self-cleaning.[2]

The effect is apparently localized enough that those who had been asked to lie verbally preferred an oral cleaning product and those asked to lie in writing preferred a hand cleaning product over the other kind of cleanser and other control items.[3]

Other researchers have been unable to replicate the basic effect using larger samples.[4] [5] Replication difficulties have emerged for three out of four of Zhong and Liljenquist's original studies (i.e., Study 2, Study 3, and Study 4).[6] A meta-analysis of 15 studies examining the relationship between primes related to moral threat and cleansing preferences found a small effect, with no significant relationship evident across 11 studies conducted by researchers other than the original ones.[7]

See also

References

  1. Zhong. Chen-Bo. Katie . Liljenquist . Washing Away Your Sins: Threatened Morality and Physical Cleansing. Science. 2006. 313. 5792. 1451–1452. 10.1126/science.1130726. 16960010. 10.1.1.181.571. 2006Sci...313.1451Z. 33103635 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170809003732/http://haniff.sg/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/washing-away-your-sins.pdf. 2017-08-09.
  2. Lee. Spike W. S.. Norbert. Schwarz . Washing away postdecisional dissonance. Science. 2010. 328. 5979. 709. 10.1126/science.1186799. 20448177. 2010Sci...328..709L. 18611420 .
  3. Lee. Spike W. S.. Norbert . Schwarz . Dirty Hands and Dirty Mouths: Embodiment of the Moral-Purity Metaphor Is Specific to the Motor Modality Involved in Moral Transgression. Psychological Science. 2010. 21. 10. 1423–1425. 10.1177/0956797610382788. 20817782. 26639040 .
  4. Fayard. Jennifer. Is cleanliness next to godliness? Dispelling old wives' tales: Failure to replicate Zhong and Liljenquist (2006). Journal of Articles in Support of the Null Hypothesis. 2009. 6. 21–30. etal. 10.1.1.214.2427.
  5. 10.1080/01973533.2013.856792 . Out, Damned Spot: Can the "Macbeth Effect" be Replicated?. Basic and Applied Social Psychology. 36. 91–98. 2014. Earp. Brian D.. Everett. Jim A. C.. Madva. Elizabeth N.. Hamlin. J. Kiley. 51472032 .
  6. Web site: Curate Science - Crowdsourcing the Transparency of Empirical Research.
  7. Siev. Jedidiah. Zuckerman. Shelby E.. Siev. Joseph J.. September 2018. The Relationship Between Immorality and Cleansing. Social Psychology. 49. 5. 303–309. 10.1027/1864-9335/a000349. 149910586 .