Euphemism numbs conscience like anesthetic does physical pain

Evidence

The convoluted language of doublespeak disguises by piling on inflated words that do not add meaning (Lutz, 1987). In his book Telling It Like It Isn’t, Dan Rothwell (1982) characterizes the sanitizing form of euphemisms as “linguistic Novocain” for the conscience that numbs us to unpleasant and harmful realities and the convoluted form as “semantic fog” that obscures and conceals detrimental practices. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2682 (#expands, via linked claim)

In this study, Jeffrey was described as a relative good moral agent relative to Michael. Both of them worked for a company that was committed to environmentally friendly policies, and participants were told that a new chief executive officer (CEO) had taken over the company, one who planned to scrap the eco-friendly policies in favor of more profit. Jeffrey takes a stand against the CEO and walks out of a meeting; Michael also decides to walk out of the meeting, but after Jeffrey. … To check whether the agency manipulation was successful, we asked participants to rate who, between Jeffrey and Michael, deserved more praise for their actions. As predicted, Jeffrey, the man who left the meeting first, was seen to be relatively more agentic and earned more praise (M 6.28, SD 0.83), t(49) 19.33, p .001. To determine who was viewed as more of a patient, we told participants that Michael and Jeffrey were at restaurant and had scalding coffee spilled on both of them. We asked which, if either, of Michael and Jeffrey felt more pain from the hot coffee. As predicted, Jeffrey, the relative moral agent, was viewed as less of a patient, as participants indicated that Michael experienced more pain (M 3.16, SD 1.40), t(49) 4.23, p .001. These results complement the previous study by finding that moral typecasting works in both causal directions; not only does patiency affect agency but agency causally influenced perceptions of patiency. — Kurt Gray and Daniel M. Wegner, Moral Typecasting, 88 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Euphemisms act as linguistic anesthesia that numbs conscience. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2682; Euphemisms numb conscience while convoluted language obscures harm; Casting someone as a moral agent reduces perceived sensitivity to pain — Kurt Gray and Daniel M. Wegner, Moral Typecasting: Divergent…, 88 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Euphemisms act as linguistic anesthesia that numbs conscience. #expands (0.98) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2682
• Casting someone as a moral agent reduces perceived sensitivity to pain #complicates (0.72) — Kurt Gray and Daniel M. Wegner, Moral Typecasting, 88
• Judgments of pain sensitivity reveal a target’s perceived moral patient status #complicates (0.72)