They asked them to recall and describe in vivid detail an actual instance from their past in which they behaved either ethically or unethically-cheating on an expense account, for instance, or returning a lost wallet. They started by “priming” moral or immoral thoughts in a group of volunteers. At least that’s the theory, which University of Kansas psychological scientist Promothesh Chatterjee and his colleagues decided to put to the test in a couple of simple laboratory experiments. The dark side may help us understand and communicate abstract ideas like immorality and evil, but the metaphor gets its power from our actual perceptions of the world around us. One popular idea is that metaphors are rooted in basic sensory experience. But why? Where does this seemingly universal metaphor come from, and how does it shape our psychology? From Shakespeare to the Bible and other sacred texts, darkness has been inextricably linked with malevolence and condemnation, and light with goodness. Of course, Star Wars creator George Lucas did not invent the metaphor of the dark side. The dark side is all the galaxy’s evils rolled together. As Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi explained to the innocent young Luke Skywalker in the original 1977 film, the once virtuous Darth Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force, his destructive power fueled by rage and hate. Whether you are a Star Wars aficionado or not, there is no doubt that these hugely popular movies have saturated the culture and the common vocabulary. Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there may be someone who has not heard of “the dark side.” But I think that’s unlikely.
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