Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026

The Forced Swim Test as a Model of Depressive-like Behavior
Published on: March 2, 2015
Moral masochism: on the connection between guilt and self-punishment
Yoel Inbar1, David A Pizarro, Thomas Gilovich
1Department of Social Psychology and Tilburg Institute for Behavioral Economics Research, Tilburg University, The Netherlands. yinbar@uvt.nl
Abstract:
Do people sometimes seek to atone for their transgressions by harming themselves physically? The current results suggest that they do. People who wrote about a past guilt-inducing event inflicted more intense electric shocks on themselves than did those who wrote about feeling sad or about a neutral event. Moreover, the stronger the shocks that guilty participants administered to themselves, the more their feelings of guilt were alleviated. We discuss how this method of atonement relates to other methods examined in previous research.
Related Concept Videos
Milgram's Obedience to Authority
Punishment
Punishment can be positive or negative. Positive punishment involves adding an undesirable stimulus, such as scolding, to decrease a behavior. Negative punishment involves removing a desirable stimulus, such as taking away a favorite toy, to decrease behavior.
Self-Discrepancy Theory
Egoism and Altruism
Cognitive Dissonance
Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects

