abstract: Pro-environmental goals often pit immediate self-interest against future communal interest. Consequently, the motivation to behave in pro-environmental ways can be particularly difficult to maintain over time. By framing environmental ills as threats to one's chronic concerns, I suggest that chronic motivations, such as disease avoidance, can be leveraged to engender longer-lasting pro-environmental motivation. Specifically, I suggest that three distinct categories of environmental ills should be associated with distinct chronic concerns, and that the mechanisms that regulate these concerns should also regulate reactions to related environmental ills: pollution should engage a pathogenic disgust mechanism, wastefulness a moral disgust mechanism, and framing environmental outcomes as posing safety concerns should be linked to fear and anger mechanisms. Results of four experiments did not lend consistent support to the hypotheses. Neither situationally primed concerns nor motivation-relevant individual differences produced consistent results suggesting an association between the proposed motivations and the relevant environmental outcomes. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Psychology 2012

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A tese analisa a obra de Rubem Fonseca e Pedro Juan Gutiérrez sob o ponto de vista da abjeção, do nojo, do choque e do trauma, suas aproximações e diferenças, partindo das várias noções de realismo até chegar ao realismo sujo, termo cunhado para designar toda uma a geração de jovens escritores americanos e latino-americanos, surgidos a partir dos anos 80. Aborda ainda as estratégias utilizadas por Fonseca (nas décadas de 60, 70 e 80) e Gutiérrez (nos anos 90 e 00) para lidar com a ditadura, respectivamente no Brasil e em Cuba, traçando um breve panorama do cenário literário cubano contemporâneo. Por fim, o trabalho discute o realismo vazio, que se caracteriza pela perda da fé nas utopias. O trabalho se apóia nas categorias teóricas utilizadas por Hal Foster, Julia Kristeva e Mário Perniola. / The thesis analyses Rubem Fonsecas and Pedro Juan Gutiérrezs fiction under the point of view of abjection, disgust, shock and trauma, their similarities and differences, starting with the different notions of Realism and reaching dirty realism expression used to identify a generation of young American and Latinamerican writers that started to publish in the 1980s. It also broaches the strategies to deal with dictatorship in Brazil and in Cuba, drawing a brief map of the contemporary Cuban literary scenario. Finally, the work discusses the empty realism, which is marked by the loss of the faith in the Utopia. The project is supported by the theoretical categories used by Hal Foster, Julia Kristeva and Mário Perniola.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A tese analisa a obra de Rubem Fonseca e Pedro Juan Gutiérrez sob o ponto de vista da abjeção, do nojo, do choque e do trauma, suas aproximações e diferenças, partindo das várias noções de realismo até chegar ao realismo sujo, termo cunhado para designar toda uma a geração de jovens escritores americanos e latino-americanos, surgidos a partir dos anos 80. Aborda ainda as estratégias utilizadas por Fonseca (nas décadas de 60, 70 e 80) e Gutiérrez (nos anos 90 e 00) para lidar com a ditadura, respectivamente no Brasil e em Cuba, traçando um breve panorama do cenário literário cubano contemporâneo. Por fim, o trabalho discute o realismo vazio, que se caracteriza pela perda da fé nas utopias. O trabalho se apóia nas categorias teóricas utilizadas por Hal Foster, Julia Kristeva e Mário Perniola. / The thesis analyses Rubem Fonsecas and Pedro Juan Gutiérrezs fiction under the point of view of abjection, disgust, shock and trauma, their similarities and differences, starting with the different notions of Realism and reaching dirty realism expression used to identify a generation of young American and Latinamerican writers that started to publish in the 1980s. It also broaches the strategies to deal with dictatorship in Brazil and in Cuba, drawing a brief map of the contemporary Cuban literary scenario. Finally, the work discusses the empty realism, which is marked by the loss of the faith in the Utopia. The project is supported by the theoretical categories used by Hal Foster, Julia Kristeva and Mário Perniola.

Schimmeliges Brot, Nasensekret, offene Wunden, Cholera, schmutzige Toiletten, Maden, Begegnungen mit Leichen, Sodomie und sogar Mord – alle diese Dinge haben einen potentiell Ekel erregenden Charakter gemeinsam und gehören somit zu den häufigsten Ekel auslösenden Faktoren (Haidt et al. 1994; Rozin et al. 2000; Oaten et al. 2009). Dies wurde in verschiedensten Studien bereits anhand von theoretischen Fragestellungen, Bildern, Viedeoclips, Gerüchen und Geräuschen untersucht (Rozin et al. 1999; Vernet-Maury et al. 1999; Wright et al. 2004; Stevenson und James 2008; de Jong et al. 2011). In der Fachliteratur finden sich jedoch nur sehr wenige Studien in Bezug auf Töne bzw. Geräusche und fast keine Nachweise dafür, dass auch über Tasteindrücke Ekel ausgelöst werden kann. Bei der Erforschung von Emotionen stellt sich oft die Frage nach deren Objektivierbarkeit. Aus diesem Grund erfolgten in den letzten Jahren zahlreiche Studien, in denen beim Empfinden von Emotionen gleichzeitig Parameter des autonomen Nervensystems gemessen wurden. Dabei gibt es allerdings einige Kontroversen darüber, ob ein emotionsspezifisches Verhalten dieser Parameter vorliegt (Vernet-Maury et al. 1999; Cacioppo et al. 2000; Barrett 2006). Zusätzlich fällt bei solchen Untersuchungen erneut eine Verteilung der präsentierten Reize mit einer deutlich höheren Anzahl an Bildern, Videoclips und Gerüchen gegenüber Geräuschen und Tasteindrücken auf (Kreibig 2010). Um nachzuweisen, dass Ekel über verschiedene Sinneseindrücke ausgelöst werden kann, wurden in dieser Studie 125 Probanden mit Ekel erregenden und neutralen Bildern, Geräuschen, Gerüchen und Tasteindrücken konfrontiert. Diese wurden in folgende Kategorien aufgeteilt: verdorbenes Essen, kranker Mensch und Fäkalien. Nach den jeweiligen Reizen erfolgte eine subjektive Einschätzung der Probanden über die empfundene Emotion mittels einer Abfrage der Basisemotionen und der Self-Assessment Mannikin. Des Weiteren wurde jeweils eine Kategorie der Sinnesreize zuvor benannt. Zusätzlich erfolgten mit einem Teil der Probanden Wiederholungsmessungen, zur Messung einer eventuellen Gewöhnung an diese Reize. Weiterhin wurden Parameter des autonomen Nervensystems (Herzfrequenz, systolischer Blutdruck und Hautleitwert) bei allen Probanden und Durchläufen aufgezeichnet. Die Probanden wurden zuvor auf Einschränkungen hinsichtlich ihrer Sinneswahrnehmungen überprüft. Die Auswertung der Ergebnisse erfolgte nach den subjektiven Bewertungen, der Parameter des autonomen Nervensystems, nach Geschlecht getrennt und jeweils in Bezug auf die Wiederholungsmessungen. Es ergaben sich dabei im Wesentlichen folgende Ergebnisse: 1. Es konnte anhand der subjektiven Bewertungen gezeigt werden, dass alle potentiell ekeligen Sinnesreize auch als ekelig empfunden wurden. Gerüche und Tasteindrücke riefen zusätzlich Überraschung hervor. Visuelle Reize lösten am stärksten Ekel aus. Es konnte erstmals demonstriert werden, dass sich in Bezug auf die unterschiedlichen Sinneskanäle, unterschiedliche autonome Aktivierungen zeigten. Ein allgemein ekelspezifisches Verhalten der autonomen Parameter wurde im Einklang mit der Literatur nicht nachgewiesen (Barrett 2006). 2. Frauen ekelten sich in Bezug auf Bilder mehr als Männer, was sich mit anderen Literaturangaben deckt (Rozin et al. 1999; Curtis et al. 2004). Zudem wurde für Frauen teilweise eine höhere sympathische Aktivierung beim Wahrnehmen von Tönen, Gerüchen und haptischen Eindrücken ermittelt. 3. Das Label führte zu einem höheren Empfinden von Ekel für Tasteindrücke und Gerüche und zu einem größeren Blutdruckabfall bei Gerüchen. Dies bestätigt den großen Einfluss von Assoziationen beim Wahrnehmen von Gerüchen, da ein Käsegeruch je nach Kontext auch als Schweißgeruch interpretiert werden kann. Dieser Bewertungsaspekt konnte bereits für Gerüche nachgewiesen werden (Herz und von Clef 2001; Bensafi et al. 2007) und lässt ebenso für Tasteindrücke eine assoziative Komponente vermuten. 4. Bei den Wiederholungsmessungen fand keine Gewöhnung für Töne und Gerüche statt und die autonomen Messungen zeigten, dass keine Sensitivierung stattfindet. Auch nach Abschluss dieser Studie konnte keine eindeutige Aussage hinsichtlich eines Ekel spezifischen Verhaltens autonomer Parameter getroffen werden. Das Verhalten des autonomen Nervensystems ist von vielen Faktoren abhängig und wird wie hier gezeigt, durch den angesprochenen Sinneskanal mit beeinflusst. Ebenso spielen Geschlechtsunterschiede, Assoziationen und wiederholte Reizexposition eine Rolle beim Empfinden von Ekel. Alle diese Aspekte wurden in der durchgeführten Studie berücksichtigt und kontrovers diskutiert. Es wird hierbei keineswegs ein Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit erhoben. Diese Studie hatte zum Ziel verschiedene Aspekte in Bezug auf die Emotion Ekel mit Hilfe der Parameter des autonomen Nervensystems zu untersuchen. Die vorliegende Studie hilft widersprüchliche Ergebnisse in der Literatur aufzuklären und einzuordnen, indem erstmals ausführlich auf die Relevanz des angesprochenen Sinneskanals hingewiesen wird. / Mould bread, nasal discharge, gaping wounds, Cholera, dirty toilets, maggots, confrontation with corpses, sodomy and even murder – all these things have a potential disgusting character and rank among the most disgusting cues (Haidt et al. 1994; Rozin et al. 2000; Oaten et al. 2009). This has been evaluated in different studies with the help of theoretical questions, pictures, video clips, odours and sounds (Rozin et al. 1999; Vernet-Maury et al. 1999; Wright et al. 2004; Stevenson und James 2008; de Jong et al. 2011). However, only few studies concern disgusting sounds and to even lesser extend haptical impressions. It is one of the most challenging questions in emotion research, how to objectify them. In recent years several studies dealt with the problem of measuring patterns of autonomic responses towards emotions. Nevertheless whether there are emotion specific patterns is discussed controversially (Vernet-Maury et al. 1999; Cacioppo et al. 2000; Barrett 2006). Furthermore, there are again few studies dealing with sounds and haptical impressions (Kreibig 2010). Aim of the present study was to arouse a feeling of disgust through different sensory stimuli. 125 subjects were tested. Before measurement started all subjects were tested concerning restrictions of their sense perception. The participants were confronted with disgusting and neutral pictures, sounds, odours and haptical impressions. These stimuli were separated into three categories: spoiled food, sick person and feces. Additionally always one category was labeled and with a part of the subjects a repetition of measurement was realized. After presentation of each stimulus, participants rated the evoked basic emotion, valence and arousal. During all measurements, patterns of the ANS (heart rate, systolic blood pressure and skin conductance level) were recorded. The analysis based on the ratings, patterns of the ANS, sex and on the repetition measurements. The essential results were as follows: 1. All potential disgusting stimuli evoked a feeling of disgust. Additionally, sounds and haptical impression also evoked surprise. Visual stimuli were rated as most disgusting. Stimulation of different senses induced a different activation of the autonomic nervous system. In accordance with the current literature (Barrett 2006) a general disgust specific behavior could not be proofed. 2. Females felt more disgusted while watching related pictures. This is in line with previous studies (Rozin et al. 1999; Curtis et al. 2004). Furthermore, females showed partly a higher sympathetic activation if confronted with sounds odours and haptical stimuli. 3. The label enhanced feelings of disgust for haptical impressions and odours, only. The label led to a higher deceleration of systolic blood pressure after presentation of disgusting odours. This is in accordance to the previously described suggestibility in olfaction (Herz und von Clef 2001; Bensafi et al. 2007). It can be supposed that there is such an associative component for haptical impressions. 4. Concerning the repetitive measurements no habituation for sounds and odours was found, in contrast to pictures and haptical impressions. Autonomous measurements showed no sensitization. In conclusion, it is not possible to finally judge, whether there is a disgust specific behavior of patterns of ANS or not. This depends on several factors, including the senses disgust is evoked through. Also gender differences and repetitive measurement affect the feeling of disgust. All these aspects were considered in this study and were discussed controversially. This study does not raise the claim to completeness. However, it helps to clarify and classify the inconsistent results in literature by pointing out the relevance of the different sensory channels.

The aim of the current paper is to examine the association between ideology and disgust sensitivity. Studying disgust offers an to assess how judgments have evolved over time due to a “gut” sense of danger. This emotion also plays a role in moral judgment: individuals label moral wrongdoings as disgusting which elicits a specific facial expression. For this reason, disgust has recently been found to be a plausible emotion involved in political decision-making. Studies indicate that liberals and conservatives rely on respective moral foundations that influence their choices. Haidt et al. (2009) argue that liberals’ views on morality are based primarily on harm/care and fairness/reciprocity, whereas conservatives’ views on morality show a more even distribution across the foundations, including those endorsed by liberals, as well as ingroup/loyalty, authority/respect and sanctity. Schnall et al. (2008) suggest a causal relationship between feelings of disgust and moral convictions. People often rely on moral reasoning when they do not have an intuitive response or when their intuition is conflicting. The current study examined this complex relationship by assessing disgust sensitivity while simultaneously manipulating emotional state through the use of emotionally disgusting and neutral pictures. Electroencephalographic (EEG) event related brain potentials (ERPs) were used as the primary index of emotional processing. The results indicated a main effect for electrode site location and for picture image, as expected. Results did not show an interaction between disgust sensitivity and ideology, or any mediating factors, suggesting that there may be no statistically significant differences in disgust sensitivity between liberals and conservatives. These results suggest that the core differences between conservatives and liberals may be exaggerated. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

A partir de son vécu de psychologue clinicienne en institutions, l'auteure a tenté ici de travailler sur l'implication des affects de dégoût et de honte dans la dynamique psychique des sujets névrosés et psychotiques. Au fur et à mesure de ses rencontres, elle s'est aperçue qu'ils pouvaient toucher à l'existence même de l'humain. Cela l'a amenée à confronter la question du sujet à celle de l'être. Elle s'est basée théoriquement sur les approches phénoménologique et ontologique, tout en élaborant des commentaires métapsychologiques autour de ces éprouvés. En construisant une articulation topologique entre plusieurs concepts, les sensations dégoûtantes ou honteuses ressenties, faisant souvent suite à des expériences traumatisantes, sidérantes car intimes, ont été associées avec les outillages freudiens et lacaniens. Ces repères ont conféré à ce travail toute sa dimension psychopathologique. A travers ses recherches, l'auteure s'est intéressée aux effets de l'opération analytique sur ces deux affects, en s'interrogeant sur leurs modalités de transmission, dans un sens diachronique et synchronique. Elle a tenté de démontrer que le dégoût et la honte auraient des impacts psychiques dans certains mécanismes et processus identificatoires et identitaires et ce, à partir d'opérations subjectivantes. Elle a pu constater la détermination de ces affects, leur consistance économique, éthique, et leurs ambiguïtés lors d'un travail psychothérapique avec une équipe soignante, ainsi qu'un patient psychotique. La pluralité des lieux a entraîné la diversité des liens et des réflexions. / From her clinician psychologist's experience in institutions, the author tried here to work on the involvements of the affects of disgust and shame in the psychic dynamics of neurotic and psychotic subjects. In the context of her meetings, she realized that they could touch the very existence of the human being. This brought her to confront the question of the subject to that of the being. She based her argument on the phenomenological approaches and ontological, while developing metapsychological comments around these affected persons. By building a topological articulation between several concepts, the felt disgusting or shameful sensations, often following traumatizing, staggering because intimate, experiences were associated with the Freudian and Lacanian mechanisms. These marks give this work all its psychopathological dimension. Through her researches, the author was interested in the effects of the analytical operation on these two affects, by wondering about their mode of transmission, in a diachronic and synchronic sense. She tried to demonstrate that the disgust and the shame would have psychic impacts in some identifiable and identity mechanisms and processes and this, from subjectifying operation. She was able to notice the determination of these affects, their economic, ethical substance and their ambiguities during a psychotherapeutic work with a medical team, as well as a psychotic patient. The plurality of places led to the diversity of links and the reflections.

Dans cette thèse, j’examine l’influence d’états aversifs (e.g., émotions désagréables, issues indésirables) sur les motivations et les comportements des consommateurs. Dans le premier essai, j’explore comment des sentiments de dégoût physique ou moral peuvent mettre en péril l’estime de soi des consommateurs et les motiver à se livrer à de la consommation compensatrice. Dans le deuxième essai, j’examine pourquoi et à quels moments les consommateurs font preuve de sentiments négatifs à l’égard des entreprises qui cessent de distribuer gratuitement des échantillons ou petits cadeaux aux consommateurs. Dans le troisième essai, j’explore comment la solitude affecte les préférences des consommateurs pour des produits et services qui peuvent ou non nécessiter des interactions interpersonnelles (ex : se faire masser vs. faire des achats en ligne). Considérés ensemble, ces trois essais contribuent à la littérature sur l’émotion, les menaces identitaires, et la consommation compensatrice, à la littérature sur les promotions commerciales et à la littérature sur la solitude. De plus, les résultats ont des implications pour les praticiens en marketing en ce qui concerne la publicité, le design des promotions commerciales, et l’haptique des consommateurs. Finalement, ces travaux de recherche offrent de nouvelles perspectives concernant le bien-être des consommateurs en soulignant les conséquences inattendues des actions des marketers qui cherchent à bénéficier aux consommateurs mais génèrent en réalité des comportements compensateurs pour faire face à leur aversion. / In this dissertation, I examine the influence of aversive states (e.g., unpleasant emotions, undesired outcomes) on consumers’ motivations and behaviors. In essay 1, I explore how feelings of physical and moral disgust can be threatening to consumers’ sense of self and motivate them to engage in compensatory consumption. In essay 2, I investigate why and when consumers exhibit negative behavioral intentions against firms that terminate unconditional business-to-consumer gift-giving initiatives. In essay 3, I explore how loneliness affects consumers’ preferences for products and services that do or do not require interpersonal touch and interaction (e.g., getting a massage vs. shopping online). Together, the three essays contribute to the literature on emotion, identity threats, and compensatory consumption, to the literature on sales promotion, and to the literature on loneliness. Moreover, the research findings inform marketing practice in the fields of advertising, sales promotions design, and consumer haptics. Finally, this research provides insights into consumer welfare by bringing attention to the unforeseen consequences of marketers’ actions that seek to benefit the consumers but instead generate compensatory behaviors to cope with their aversiveness.

Disgust is an important adaptive mechanism in protection against disease. Disgust sensitivity is very variable between individuals and, according to the compensatory prophylaxis hypothesis (CPH), should be adjusted to individual's vulnerability to disease. The beginning of pregnancy is associated with a number of changes in the immune system and thus disgust sensitivity is expected to be increased. The aim of this thesis was to test the CPH in relation to longitudinal changes in disgust during pregnancy and after birth, as well as in comparison with non-pregnant control sample of women. Another aim was to observe the maladaptive role of disgust, specifically the relationship between trait anxiety and disgust. Against the set expectations, disgust was observed to increase during pregnancy in the animal reminder domain of disgust. However, the function of this domain in protection against disease has been criticized. These changes were only observed in pregnancies with a male fetus. In line with the CPH predictions, it was shown that women who reported having recent health problems also had higher disgust. Similarly, the results showed a possible protective role of mothers' increased disgust in the beginning of pregnancy, which was related to new-borns having a higher 10 minute APGAR score. When...

During the entire course of evolution of our species have animals played an important role in human society and culture. They receive considerably more attention over other stimuli and the interest in animals is accompanied by both positive and negative emotions. This work deals with human attitudes towards three classes of vertebrates - amphibians (Amphibia), mammals (Mammalia), and birds (Aves) - and aims to reveal morphological and other perceptional characteristics of these animals (colour, pattern) that are responsible for their ratings of attractiveness, and of fear and disgust induced, and to investigate the relationship of negative emotions and human aesthetic preferences. The testing, underwent by 536 respondents, revealed the general body shape has the most significant impact on the rating of attractiveness and disgust induced by amphibians. Mammals and birds were significantly influenced by their real body size that was impossible to completely filter out by standardising of the photographs. Colours were of merely marginal influence, saturation contributed to the positive rating, whereas dark and dull colours were rated rather negatively. Particular colours were specific for individual groups. The relations between the examined quantities were not uniform among all the investigated...

While many modernist authors exhibited eugenicist tendencies which I While many modernist authors exhibited eugenicist tendencies which I will detail in this paper, Joyce wrote, implicitly and explicitly, against it. Joyce’s anti-eugenics aesthetic, expressed almost in passing by Stephen Dedalus in A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man (1916), becomes entangled in questions of bodies and national identity in Ulysses. I intend to identify a series of moments in which disgust and bodily difference in Ulysses counter the eugenics trends in elitist modernism while simultaneously criticizing racism in Irish nationalism that, in some ways, drove the movement for Irish independence. It would be impossible to provide and exhaustive exploration of all the anti-eugenics imagery in Ulysses. this project attempts to differentiate Joyce more thoroughly from his contemporaries through readings of Gerty MacDowell and Molly Bloom. Gerty is the disabled granddaughter of a racist nationalist, and she functions as an articulation of Joyce’s search for an Ireland that rejects simplistic, narrow-minded nationalism. Molly, Ulysses’ ultimate heroine, takes ownership of her sexuality, thereby countering the eugenics project. I read both women as counter-eugenics icons who personify an anti-hegemonic ideal through their relationships with their own bodies.