Anger and disgust shape judgments of social sanctions across cultures, especially in high individual autonomy societies
Date
2024
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Scientifc Reports
Abstract
When someone violates a social norm, others may think that some sanction would be appropriate. We
examine how the experience of emotions like anger and disgust relate to the judged appropriateness
of sanctions, in a pre-registered analysis of data from a large-scale study in 56 societies. Across the
world, we fnd that individuals who experience anger and disgust over a norm violation are more likely to endorse confrontation, ostracism and, to a smaller extent, gossip. Moreover, we fnd that the
experience of anger is consistently the strongest predictor of judgments of confrontation, compared
to other emotions. Although the link between state-based emotions and judgments may seem
universal, its strength varies across countries. Aligned with theoretical predictions, this link is stronger
in societies, and among individuals, that place higher value on individual autonomy. Thus, autonomy
values may increase the role that emotions play in guiding judgments of social sanctions
Description
Research Article
Keywords
social sanctions, individual autonomy societies, Anger