a look at the things that
make us go, “ick!”
WORDS MIA TIMPANOthe science
of disgust
What would you do if you were standing in a room filled with
artificial fart spray? Yep, you’d probably want to leave – but you’d
also become more likely to judge others harshly, thus becoming
an arsehole yourself (appropriately enough). We know this thanks
to psychologist David Pizarro, one of the many scientists around
the world dedicated to understanding the emotion of disgust.
(Fun fact: said scientists sometimes like to refer to themselves as
‘disgustologists’.) Of course, the folks who agreed to participate
in Pizarro’s experiment weren’t told they’d be trapped in a fart
chamber for the duration. Sure enough, though, they were – and,
once inside, were asked to rate how they felt about various groups
in society, such as the elderly. While the scent of human stink
bombs tickled their nostrils, the participants were more likely
to disapprove of their fellow humans than when they were in
a neutral-smelling environment. But why?
Scientists believe disgust originally evolved to protect us from
getting sick and dying – hence why we’re universally grossed out
by anything or anyone that looks potentially infectious: rotten food;
critters widely considered to be vermin (cockroaches, rats, lice and
such); dead bodies; body fluids; signs of physical damage (open
weeping sores, for example). When you feel your skin crawl at
the sight or smell of these things, you’re experiencing ‘pathogen
disgust’ – considered a component of your behavioural immune
system. It’s biologically advantageous, both individually and
collectively, not to touch cockroaches or lick someone else’s
rash, so, in this way, disgust is protecting us. Yay, disgust.
Where it gets weird is the concept of moral disgust – as per
Pizarro’s experiment. Why would other people disgust you, just
because they’re different? The thinking goes that once upon a time
(i.e. in pre-modern society) disgust was super-essential because
it kept us alive – it stopped us from eating poo, maggots or both.
However, now we’re better able to detect which foods will kill us,
disgust has evolved to take on a new role: to protect us
from people we believe will ‘poison’ our morals. So, when
someone does or says something that contradicts our beliefs,
we are repulsed.
But not everyone is repulsed to the same extent. Generally
speaking, if you’re easily disgusted, you’re probably more
judgmental towards others. Old mate Pizarro discovered that
your threshold for disgust directly corresponds to your political
views. Are you an extreme conservative? Then it’s easy to make
you say ‘ew’. Fierce liberal? Way less so. But put you in a room
full of farts, and you’ll all start breaking down eventually – such is
the power of human gas. You’ll also become worse at bargaining,
as psychologists at Carnegie Mellon University recently discovered.
These particular disgustologists showed their experiment
participants a whole bunch of revolting videos, then asked them
to sell stuff. The folks who’d witnessed the gross-out reel sold
their items for around half the price of those who’d watched
neutral clips, thus demonstrating the ‘disgust disposal effect’.
Not only does it make you want to ditch disgusting things, it
also drives you to remove yourself from any situation you find
disgusting. In the Carnegie Mellon experiment, the disgusted
people accepted mediocre trade deals in order to get out of there
quicker – but you’ll also find people will distance themselves from
folks they find distasteful, physically and/or psychologically.
Not children, though. One need only spend a brief amount of time
in the company of tots to be introduced to their boogers and other
things that should (according to the pathogen disgust response)
cause them to cringe. Disgust is one of the last emotions kids get
their head around, you see. It kicks in at around two years old- i.e. when they become independent from their parents. But even
once they hit nine years, they’ll only correctly interpret a disgusted
expression around 30 per cent of the time. That mightn’t seem like
learn something new