Title: Wiping the slate clean: Psychological consequences of physical cleansing

Speaker: Spike Lee, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan

Time: 10:30-11:30am, May 18, 2011

Location: Room 217, New Building of GSM, Peking University

Abstract

People make an intuitive distinction between the metaphoric “dirty mouth” (as in frequent swearing) and “dirty hands” (as in corrupt politics). It cannot be that we literally feel an urge for mouth- rinsing after unethical utterances, but an urge for hands-cleaning after immoral acts—or can it? Results from our experiment and re-analysis of published data suggest so. It makes sense from the embodied cognition perspective that pays serious attention to modality (Barsalou, 2008). In our experiment, we manipulated motor modality by having people leave a voice message or write an email, acting unethical (telling a lie) or acting ethical (telling the truth). An unethical mouth made mouthwash more attractive; a pair of unethical hands made hand sanitizer more attractive. Moral transgressions thus increase the appeal of products that cleanse the specifically tainted body part. Given the fundamental role of modality in embodiment, testing for its causal significance in embodied metaphors holds promise for theoretical progress.Note, however, that metaphors involving physical cleanliness extend beyond moral issues. By “wiping the slate clean,” people move on to new endeavors, which suggeststhat physical cleansing may not only restore moral purity butalso metaphorically “wash away” traces of past behaviors that have no moral implications at all. Two experiments tested this possibility in the context of decision-making. We gave people a free choice between two similarly attractive music albums or fruit jams. After choosing one, they completed a “product evaluation survey” that involved either merelyexamining or actually testing a cleaning product. Finally, theyrated the music albums or fruit jams again. Replicating theclassic post-decisional dissonance effect, the chosen itembecame more attractive after the choice, and the rejected album became less attractive. However, this was observedonly for participants who merely examined the soap. Forparticipants who tested the soap by washing their hands, their post-choice ratings were unaffected by their decision, indicating that dissonance was “washed away.” Hence, thepsychological impact of physical cleansing extends beyond the domain of morality. Theoretical implications and follow-up

research that further supports clean-slate effects will be discussed.

Welcome to attend!