Another Wrongdoer's Punishment Cleanses the Self: Evidence for a Moral Cleansing Function of Punishing Moral Transgressors

Abstract

Separate lines of research show that individuals: a) understand immorality metaphorically as physical contamination; b) project undesirable self-attributes onto others; and c) view punishment as eliminating a transgressor's immorality. Integrating these findings, we hypothesized that individuals project guilt over their own immoral actions - experienced as physical contamination - onto another transgressor whose punishment restores their own perceived moral and physical purity. Study 1 showed that priming participants' own immoral actions decreased their felt physical cleanliness, but not if they were presented with a punished transgressor. Study 2 showed that participants primed with their own immoral actions viewed another transgressor as physically dirtier as a result of their own increased feelings of guilt. Additionally, the subsequent punishment of the contaminated transgressor restored participants' perceived personal morality and eliminated their desire to engage in moral restoration behavior. These studies are the first to show that another's punishment can serve to "cleanse" the self.