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Assessing Biofilm Dispersal in Murine Wounds
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Published on: August 7, 2021

Washing away postdecisional dissonance.

Spike W S Lee1, Norbert Schwarz

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. spikelee@umich.edu

Science (New York, N.Y.)
|May 8, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Physical cleansing, like washing hands, can eliminate post-decision dissonance, making people feel better about their choices. This suggests a general "clean slate" effect beyond just moral concerns.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Decision-making often leads to cognitive dissonance, where individuals enhance the attractiveness of their chosen option and devalue the rejected one.
  • Previous research indicated that moral purification (e.g., symbolic cleansing) could mitigate negative feelings associated with moral transgressions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether physical cleansing, specifically hand washing, can reduce post-decisional dissonance.
  • To explore if the effect of physical cleansing extends beyond the moral domain to general decision-making.

Main Methods:

  • Participants made a choice between two alternatives.
  • Following the decision, one group physically cleansed their hands, while a control group did not.
  • Attitudes towards the chosen and rejected alternatives were measured.

Main Results:

  • The typical post-decisional dissonance effect (increased liking of the chosen option, decreased liking of the rejected option) was observed in the control group.
  • This dissonance effect was significantly reduced or eliminated in the group that washed their hands.
  • Physical cleansing appeared to neutralize the cognitive bias associated with decision-making.

Conclusions:

  • Physical cleansing acts as a general mechanism to alleviate concerns and negative feelings arising from past actions, including difficult decisions.
  • The findings suggest a broader application of the