Macbeth Arabia: moral threat and cleansing-related construct accessibility in Arab women. Issue 2 (7th February 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Thomas, Justin; Grey, Ian; Al-Romaithi, Salama
• Is Part Of: Mental health, religion & culture. Volume 21:Issue 2(2018)
• Page Start: 131
• Page End: 138
• Publication Date: 2018-02-07
• Subjects: Guilt -- moral threat -- OCD -- clean -- Arab -- Muslim; Mental health -- Religious aspects -- Periodicals; Religion and culture -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Religious aspects -- Periodicals; Mentally ill -- Pastoral counseling of -- Periodicals; 306.461
• DOI: 10.1080/13674676.2017.1381675
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1367-4676

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The "Macbeth effect" denotes a relationship between threatened moral integrity (e.g., guilt) and cleansing-related cognition and behaviours. This idea has received empirical support and may have implications for our understanding obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Most previous explorations of the Macbeth effect, however, have been undertaken in Europe or North America. This study aimed to test the effect among Muslim, Arabic-speaking, citizens of the United Arab Emirates. Experimental participants ( N = 112) completed a task designed to threaten moral integrity (recalling past misdeeds), followed by a word-fragment completion task, where cleansing and non-cleansing completions were possible. A control-group ( N = 95) completed only the word-fragment completion task. Participants recalling past misdeeds made significantly more cleansing-related word-fragment completions than their control-group counterparts. This study extends evidence of a Macbeth effect to an Arabic-speaking Muslim population and may have implications for our understanding of OCD within this population.