Macbeth Effect (2019)
Installation by Maryam Katan and Shaahin Peymani
Part of the Exhibition Some Absolute Responsible Methods for Cleansers
Macbeth effect is an unproved theory about the link between bodily cleanliness and moral purity. It was first introduced by two psychologists Chen-Bo Zhong and Katie Lilijenquist, who conducted a series of experiments to indicate this link. In a 2006 paper in Science magazine, they stated that a threat to one’s moral purity induces the need to cleanse oneself. However, further researches have been unable to replicate these experiments using larger samples.