Article Version of Record

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 humor

Persistent 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
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Brigaud, Emmanuelle
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Blanc, Nathalie
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2022-04-14T11:20:31Z
  • Made available on
    2022-04-14T11:20:31Z
  • Date of first publication
    2021-11-30
  • 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.
    en_US
  • Publication status
    publishedVersion
  • Review status
    peerReviewed
  • 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
  • ISSN
    1841-0413
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/5334
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.5938
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Publisher
    PsychOpen GOLD
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.2417
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.4687
  • Is related to
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.4687
  • Keyword(s)
    moral judgment
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    sacrificial dilemmas
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    dark and nondark humor
    en_US
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    When dark humor and moral judgment meet in sacrificial dilemmas: Preliminary evidence with females
    en_US
  • DRO type
    article
  • Issue
    4
  • Journal title
    Europe's Journal of Psychology
  • Page numbers
    276–287
  • Volume
    17
  • Visible tag(s)
    Version of Record
    en_US