When dark humor and moral judgment meet in sacrificial dilemmas: Preliminary evidence with females
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Brigaud, Emmanuelle
Blanc, Nathalie
Abstract / Description
The influence of dark humor on moral judgment has never been explored, even though this form of humor is well-known to push the boundaries of social norms. In the present study, we examined whether the presence of dark humor leads female participants to approve a utilitarian response (i.e., to kill one to save many) in sacrificial dilemmas. The effects of two types of humorous contexts were compared (i.e., dark vs. nondark) on dilemmas, which differed according to whom benefits from the crime (i.e., oneself and others vs. others only). In addition to collecting moral responses, individuals’ emotional states were assessed at three critical steps: Before and after reading the jokes and also after performing the moral judgment task. Our results revealed that dark and nondark humor similarly elicited a positive emotional state. However, dark humor increased the permissiveness of the moral violation when this violation created benefits for oneself. In self and other beneficial dilemmas, female participants in the dark humorous condition judged the utilitarian response more appropriate than those in the nondark condition. This study represents a first attempt in deepening our understanding of the context-dependent nature of moral judgment usually assessed in sacrificial dilemmas.
Keyword(s)
moral judgment sacrificial dilemmas dark and nondark humorPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2021-11-30
Journal title
Europe's Journal of Psychology
Volume
17
Issue
4
Page numbers
276–287
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Brigaud, E., & Blanc, N. (2021). When dark humor and moral judgment meet in sacrificial dilemmas: Preliminary evidence with females. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 17(4), 276-287. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.2417
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ejop.v17i4.2417.pdfAdobe PDF - 420.23KBMD5: fce5bd8b5dd1e623af75360335d30cd9
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Brigaud, Emmanuelle
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Blanc, Nathalie
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2022-04-14T11:20:31Z
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Made available on2022-04-14T11:20:31Z
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Date of first publication2021-11-30
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Abstract / DescriptionThe influence of dark humor on moral judgment has never been explored, even though this form of humor is well-known to push the boundaries of social norms. In the present study, we examined whether the presence of dark humor leads female participants to approve a utilitarian response (i.e., to kill one to save many) in sacrificial dilemmas. The effects of two types of humorous contexts were compared (i.e., dark vs. nondark) on dilemmas, which differed according to whom benefits from the crime (i.e., oneself and others vs. others only). In addition to collecting moral responses, individuals’ emotional states were assessed at three critical steps: Before and after reading the jokes and also after performing the moral judgment task. Our results revealed that dark and nondark humor similarly elicited a positive emotional state. However, dark humor increased the permissiveness of the moral violation when this violation created benefits for oneself. In self and other beneficial dilemmas, female participants in the dark humorous condition judged the utilitarian response more appropriate than those in the nondark condition. This study represents a first attempt in deepening our understanding of the context-dependent nature of moral judgment usually assessed in sacrificial dilemmas.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationBrigaud, E., & Blanc, N. (2021). When dark humor and moral judgment meet in sacrificial dilemmas: Preliminary evidence with females. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 17(4), 276-287. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.2417
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ISSN1841-0413
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/5334
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.5938
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.2417
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.4687
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Is related tohttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.4687
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Keyword(s)moral judgmenten_US
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Keyword(s)sacrificial dilemmasen_US
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Keyword(s)dark and nondark humoren_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleWhen dark humor and moral judgment meet in sacrificial dilemmas: Preliminary evidence with femalesen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue4
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Journal titleEurope's Journal of Psychology
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Page numbers276–287
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Volume17
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Visible tag(s)Version of Recorden_US