emotion
Disgust
Confidence · high
A rejection response to things that threaten contamination — physical, social, or moral.
This is contaminating and must be expelled or avoided.
01
Overview
Typical triggers
- ·Spoiled food, rot, bodily waste
- ·Moral violations (cruelty, betrayal)
- ·Social transgression
Common metaphors
- “Made my skin crawl”
- “Turn my stomach”
02
Body
- stomachNausea, churning
- throatGag reflex
- faceWrinkled nose, raised upper lip
Mixed activation
Arousal3/5
Energy3/5
- Heart rate
- Variable
- Breathing
- Shallow, held; turned away
03
Mind
Attention
Pulls away from object
Facial expression
Wrinkled nose, raised upper lip, tongue thrust
Typical thoughts
- “Get it away”
- “Wrong”
- “Yuck”
04
Behavior
- Withdrawal
- Spitting, washing
- Moral condemnation
Environmental influences
Hygiene cues · Cultural norms
05
Function
Avoidance of pathogens and toxins; extended to moral domain to police group norms.
State transitions
- DisgustAngervia Disgust energizes against an agent
- Disgustcontemptvia Disgust crystallizes into looking down
06
Interventions
- Distinguish physical from moral disgust
- Notice contamination beliefs
- Get distance, then evaluate ethically
Reflection questions
- · Is this a real threat, or a cultural reflex?
- · What value is being protected?
07
Relationships
RelatedNeighborOpposite
08
Research
Disgust shows a clear universal facial expression (Ekman) and links to behavioral immune system theory (Schaller).
Citations
- · Rozin et al. (2008). Disgust.