The emotion of disgust is understudied. It has been implicated in various forms of psychopathology, but its overall influence remains unclear. New and improved methods and constructs are required if we are to better understand the relationship of disgust in attitude formation and psychological functioning. This study was an investigation of a measure referred to herein as the Disgust Propensity and Sensitivity Evolutionary Scale (DPSES). A total of 655 participants were recruited from a private university in the southeastern United States to complete a pencil -and-paper version of the measure in exchange for course credit. Exploratory factor analysis revealed an adequate five-factor structure that was further evaluated and supported through confirmatory factor analysis. The five-factor structure of the DPSES was determined to assess properties of disgust propensity, disgust sensitivity, sexual, moral, and pathogen disgust. Women's scores were significantly higher than males' across all subscales (Cohen's d = 0.59 for disgust propensity, d = 0.62 for disgust sensitivity, d = 1.73 for sexual disgust, d = 0.37 for moral disgust, and d = 0.70 for pathogen disgust). Women are repeatedly demonstrated to have stronger reactions to disgust than men, most particularly in relation to sexual associations. A better overall understanding of reactions, gender differences, and ways that maladaptive responses to disgust influence various psychological disorders and dysfunctions increases the potential for advancements in corresponding diagnostic and treatment strategies.

This study examined the distinguishing physiological characteristics of the disgust reaction across different domains. According to an evolutionary analysis, disgust is a heterogeneous emotion with features that are specific to three distinct domains: pathogens, sex, and morality. Each domain is predicted to take as input information specific to the adaptive problem it evolved to solve and regulate behavior accordingly. The goal of the present study was to investigate whether there are any adaptive physiological differences associated with the disgust response across domains. Participants were asked to imagine acts that elicit pathogen, sexual, and moral disgust. It was hypothesized that there would be both quantitative and qualitative differences in the physiological reactions based on the appropriate functional outputs for the social (moral and sexual) and nonsocial (pathogen) domains. Individual differences in self-report ratings of disgust as well as the role of religiosity in regulating social disgust were also explored. Results showed significant differences in parasympathetic influences on the heart in response to the sexual stimuli but not to the other domains. Also, the self-report ratings showed that females were more sensitive than males to the sexual stimuli but not to pathogens or moral acts. These results lend further support to the dissociation between the functional domains of disgust. Correlations between levels of religiosity and both subjective ratings of fear towards pathogens and levator labii activation when viewing pathogen stimuli were found. This study provides preliminary evidence of dissociations between different domains of disgust and provides a methodological guideline which can help inform future studies of disgust. Implications of the current findings are discussed, as well as limitations of the current methodology and avenues for further exploration.

Much like unpalatable foods, filthy restrooms and bloody wounds, sociomoral transgressions are often described as “disgusting”. This linguistic similarity suggests that there is a link between sociomoral disgust and more rudimentary forms of disgust associated with toxicity and disease. Critics have argued, however, that such references are purely metaphorical, or that sociomoral disgust may be limited to transgressions that remind us of more basic disgust stimuli. My aim was to provide more direct evidence that sociomoral transgressions do genuinely evoke disgust, and to explore factors that may influence how much disgust is evoked. I first searched for similarity in the facial expressions evoked by gustatory distaste (elicited by unpleasant tastes), physical disgust (elicited by photographs of contaminants), and moral disgust (elicited by unfair treatment in an economic game). I found that all three states evoked activation of the levator labii muscle region of the face, characteristic of an oral-nasal rejection response and consistent with an origin of sociomoral disgust in oral disgust. I next investigated whether individual differences in the tendency to experience physical disgust are related to variability in sociomoral judgement and emotion. In two different populations, heightened sensitivity toward physical disgust was related to more severe sociomoral judgements. A complementary neuroimaging study showed overlap between the neural correlates of physical disgust and sociomoral judgement, as well as highlighting brain regions that may underlie sociomoral hypersensitivity. Finally, I tested the idea that perceived differences in the causal stability of sociomoral transgressions may specifically affect levels of disgust. Although it was not possible to dissociate disgust from anger, the transgressions that were presented did evoke reliable self-reports of disgust. Taken together, these findings converge to support the conclusion that sociomoral transgressions can in fact elicit disgust, and accordingly that references to the disgusting nature of wrongdoing reflect biological reality rather than metaphor.

Much like unpalatable foods, filthy restrooms and bloody wounds, sociomoral transgressions are often described as “disgusting”. This linguistic similarity suggests that there is a link between sociomoral disgust and more rudimentary forms of disgust associated with toxicity and disease. Critics have argued, however, that such references are purely metaphorical, or that sociomoral disgust may be limited to transgressions that remind us of more basic disgust stimuli. My aim was to provide more direct evidence that sociomoral transgressions do genuinely evoke disgust, and to explore factors that may influence how much disgust is evoked. I first searched for similarity in the facial expressions evoked by gustatory distaste (elicited by unpleasant tastes), physical disgust (elicited by photographs of contaminants), and moral disgust (elicited by unfair treatment in an economic game). I found that all three states evoked activation of the levator labii muscle region of the face, characteristic of an oral-nasal rejection response and consistent with an origin of sociomoral disgust in oral disgust. I next investigated whether individual differences in the tendency to experience physical disgust are related to variability in sociomoral judgement and emotion. In two different populations, heightened sensitivity toward physical disgust was related to more severe sociomoral judgements. A complementary neuroimaging study showed overlap between the neural correlates of physical disgust and sociomoral judgement, as well as highlighting brain regions that may underlie sociomoral hypersensitivity. Finally, I tested the idea that perceived differences in the causal stability of sociomoral transgressions may specifically affect levels of disgust. Although it was not possible to dissociate disgust from anger, the transgressions that were presented did evoke reliable self-reports of disgust. Taken together, these findings converge to support the conclusion that sociomoral transgressions can in fact elicit disgust, and accordingly that references to the disgusting nature of wrongdoing reflect biological reality rather than metaphor.

archives@tulane.edu / Although human smell functions, in part, to detect disease and mate quality and is the sensory modality most strongly tied to disgust, its role in social cognition and behavior remains largely understudied. The current study investigated the relationship between olfactory acuity, disgust sensitivity, and prejudice toward outgroups heuristically linked to disease (i.e., overweight, gay male, older targets) using the Sniffin’ Sticks extended test among a non-clinical sample (N = 170). Based on pilot data, higher acuity was predicted to be associated with higher sexual disgust sensitivity. Both higher acuity and sexual disgust sensitivity were also predicted to be related to greater outgroup prejudice. Results found smell acuity to be positively, though not significantly related to sexual disgust. Contrary to original predictions, smell was negatively (though non-significantly) associated with outgroup prejudice for all measures except for ageism—higher acuity significantly correlated with less ageist beliefs. Furthermore, sexual disgust was not significantly related to any explicit prejudice measures, but exploratory analyses revealed a potential relationship with some less explicit measures. Current study limitations and future considerations for research investigating the role of smell and disgust in intergroup prejudice are discussed. / 1 / Zachary Airington

I defended the view that one of the notable symbolic functions of disgust is to the avoid the limitations inherent in our unconscious desire to be invulnerable to life. Via the plasticity of disgust's gene-cultural evolution throughout enduring norms on human sanctity, we inherited an unconscious, instinctive desire to be invulnerable, whose characteristic emotion is disgust. My framework on disgust can explain a wider variety of instances of disgust than the contemporary literature, such as the nausea we feel before a theatrical performance, the allure of disgust in humour and storytelling, and disgust where core-disgust elicitors are not operative. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA) / One of disgust's function is to avoid the reminder that we are not invulnerable to life. We want to be invulnerable to life, but we also recognize that life doesn't work like that. One of disgust's functions is to avoid being reminded that we are vulnerable.

During Augustine’s early years in ministry, he promoted the idea of using the pen rather than the sword when it comes to converting those who were not Christians. However, during the Donatist Controversy, Augustine advocated the use of violence to convince the Donatists to return to the Catholic fold. This dissertation argues that disgust played a crucial role in Augustine’s change of heart. Emotions play a huge part in an individual’s decision-making process. Studies on disgust discuss its role in interpersonal conflict and in religious violence. The dehumanizing language present in Augustine’s letters when he describes the Donatists helps create an atmosphere where disgust’s strong presence can be felt. The question of purity became an important question since both groups argued that they were the “true, pure Church.” Both groups traced their spiritual lineage to Cyprian as proof that they belonged to the true African Church. By examining Augustine’s Letters, one can see the shift in tone and characterization of the Donatists by Augustine. Over the years, the disgust felt by Augustine led to a shift in his attitude, leading him to sanction the use of violence against the Donatists. Initially, the role of disgust was to prevent humans from coming into contact with harmful pathogens. As a result, humans developed a strong revulsion against harmful substances in order to protect themselves from harm. While disgust has this physical component, it also has a sociomoral component where it manifests itself against disgusting stimulus. Within this schema, anything that it deems as a moral transgression, especially as it involves question of purity, is considered as a stimulus to be avoided and rejected strongly and vehemently. While it poses no problem for a human to avoid what it deems as a disgusting stimulus such as a cockroach, it does pose a problem when another human being is seen and labelled as a cockroach. Disgust has the power to “other” human beings and creates a very strong us-vs-them mentality. Once this us-vs-them mentality is enforced, it is only natural to label another group as a “cockroach” and kill them as such. In examining Augustine’s relationship with the Donatists, it is important to acknowledge disgust’s role in this particular theological and historical event. This dissertation will conclude with a contemporary application of disgust in modern theological controversies, especially as it relates to homosexuality and the role of women in leadership. Disgust’s ability to elicit such a strong and violent response in humans is a reminder of the strength of emotions to govern our actions. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The behavioral immune system (BIS) is comprised of a variety of psychological and behavioral defenses designed to protect against pathogenic threats. These processes predict various affective and behavioral responses in myriad human contexts, including putative decisions to mitigate exposure to environmental pathogens. We investigated whether the strength of BIS responses predicted jurors’ verdicts in a sexual assault trial, wherein strength of the evidence against the defendant was manipulated (ambiguous vs. strong) to determine the extent to which chronic activation of BIS predicted derogation of the defendant. Subsequent mediation analyses indicated that dispositionally activated BIS (as indexed by perceived vulnerability to disease) predicted greater likelihood of conviction by way of affective experiences of disgust, which in turn influenced participants’ cognitive appraisals of diagnostic evidence. Furthermore, such responses also elicited greater desire for social distance with the defendant. Evidence strength, however, did not moderate these effects. Findings provide preliminary evidence for how BIS responses may influence legal proceedings.

The association between core disgust and moral disgust has been a particularly contentious issue within the emotion literature. Preliminary neurophysiological evidence appeared to support a hybrid theory of the relation between core disgust and moral disgust, suggesting reactivity to bodily moral disgust stimuli is similar to core disgust reaction patterns and reactivity to non-bodily moral disgust stimuli is similar to that of anger.  The aim of this project was to test this theory.  In Study 1, participants viewed and rated emotion video clips to ensure the video clips shown in Study 2 elicited the intended emotions. In Study 2, the selected video clips were shown while EEG and ECG data were collected.  It was hypothesized that there would be similar cerebral asymmetry, heart rate, and heart rate variability patterns between contamination-related core disgust and bodily moral disgust and between anger and non-bodily moral disgust. Although the results of this study did not fully support these hypotheses, preliminary evidence was found to support the hybrid theory of disgust. Based on the participant ratings and observed frontal asymmetry scores, similarities were found amongst contamination-related core disgust and bodily moral disgust and with non-bodily moral disgust and anger. These results warrant further investigation into the disgust construct in order to continue to explore the validity of the hybrid theory of disgust. / Ph. D.

Research indicates self-disgust plays a significant role in the development and maintenance of depression, yet it is still a concept that is inadequately developed and often viewed as being only a single-faceted emotion. Although number of measures for assessing disgust have been developed, many of these give limited insight into notions of the self, focusing instead on external rather than internal matters. Hence, it is suggested that current tools to assess self-disgust are not sufficiently comprehensive. Thus, this thesis aims to develop a new scale of self-disgust that includes multiple aspects of the self. In this thesis, a new psychometric instrument, the Edinburgh Self-Disgust Scale (ESDS), is proposed to investigate self-disgust in both a clinical and non-clinical population in Saudi Arabia. Methods of translation and back translation are used, along with six instruments translated from English into Arabic. The first study aims to examine the psychometric properties (descriptive analysis, item-to-scale correlation, split-half reliability, internal consistency and confirmatory factor analysis) of the new questionnaire within a non-clinical sample. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) supports the division of the ESDS into five subscales (body shape, concept of the self, unacceptable behaviour, treatment of others and past-experience). External validity is confirmed through associations of subscales with existing measurements of factors relating to self-disgust: The Body Image Scale (BIS); the Multidimensional Self-Concept Scale, the Other as Shamer Scale (OAS), the Experience of Shame Scale (ESS), the UPPS-P Impulsive Behaviour Scale, the Self-Disgust Scale (SDS) and the Beck Depression Inventory – 2nd Edition (BDI-II). The results indicate that ESDS is significantly correlated with these measurements. The second study aims to replicate these findings using the clinical sample, to ensure that the ESDS behaves in a similar manner within a clinical population. Convergent validity with the BDI-II is also established. The ESDS is found to be significantly correlated with depression on the BDI and the existing factor structure is supported. It is concluded that the ESDS provides an appropriate and comprehensive assessment of self-disgust for an Arabic speaking population and shows convergent validity with the BDI-II in a clinical sample. Recommendations for future research and clinical utility are given.