The Lady Macbeth effect is a psychological phenomenon in which feelings of shame or moral guilt increase a person's desire to engage in physical cleansing or hygiene-related behavior. It takes its name from Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth, who compulsively washes her hands after helping orchestrate a murder. Researchers who introduced the concept in 2006 found experimentally that people who recalled an unethical act showed a stronger preference for cleaning-related words and were more likely to actually wash themselves afterward.
Facts
Core ClaimThe Lady Macbeth effect is a phenomenon in psychology in which a sense of shame or moral failure increases cleaning and cleanliness-seeking responses. 1 First Described Year Classification
Type of Phenomenon Connections
In Branch
Source Lady Macbeth effect, Wikipedia
Sources
1. Lady Macbeth effect, Wikipedia
Lead section
The Lady Macbeth effect or Macbeth effect is a phenomenon in psychology where a sense of shame or moral failure may increase cleaning and cleanliness-seeking responses.
Background section
The Lady Macbeth effect was introduced in 2006 by Chen-Bo Zhong and Katie Liljenquist in the journal Science.
In Branch: Moral Psychology, Categories
Wikipedia article 'Lady Macbeth effect' is filed under Category:Moral psychology.
View the SourceReader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.