Fear of deontological guilt and fear of contamination in obsessivecompulsive disorder
Francesco Mancini, Amelia Gangemi
In order to contribute to a deeper understanding of obsessive-compulsive disorder, in the current paper we
will argue the existence of two different guilt emotions: altruistic guilt and deontological guilt. According
to appraisal theories of emotion, the two senses of guilt differ in the goals that could be threatened:
the altruistic goal of benefitting another or the deontological goal of the «Do not play God» principle.
Evidence in support of the existence of these two distinct senses of guilt, coming from several studies,
will be presented. We will then argue a) the existence of a special relationship between deontological guilt
and disgust, and b) that obsessive-compulsive patients are more sensitive to deontological guilt than to
altruistic guilt. Experimental data consistent with both these hypotheses will be presented.
Keywords
Guilt emotion, deontological guilt, altruistic guilt, disgust, obsessive-compulsive
disorder.
