Disgust

O artigo propoe uma abordagem antropologica sobre os usos da agua nos banheiros publicos da Universidade de Brasilia. Conduzida por equipe multidisciplinar, o ponto de partida da pesquisa era compreender o modo como a agua era usada e se, eventualmente, haveria algum tipo de comportamento que pudesse ser classificado como “desperdicio”. Para estudar essa problematica, optamos por um enfoque da agua como elemento de mediacao da relacao entre as instalacoes dos banheiros e os usuarios. A qualificacao da experiencia dos usuarios, assim construida, nos deu a medida da complexidade sobre a conexao entre dois sistemas de classificacao atuantes: 1) os significados das nocoes de descuido, descaso e desperdicio para a relacao do usuario com o bem publico (o espaco do banheiro e sua materialidade) e 2) as orientacoes de conduta observada entre os usuarios e suas antecipacoes de sujeira, nojo e desconsideracao. Atraves desse mote analitico, sao exploradas as relacoes entre publico e privado, c...

Previous research shows gender differences in self-reported attitudes toward homosexuals; in this study, we examined possible factors associated with these gender differences. Heterosexual undergraduate students completed scales measuring variables hypothesized to explain gender differences in overall homonegativity (negative attitudes toward homosexuals), including differential exposure to homosexuals, disgust sensitivity, and reporting biases. As predicted, heterosexual males consistently expressed more negative attitudes toward homosexuals than did heterosexual females, with the effect being more pronounced for attitudes toward gay men. Also as hypothesized, many variables related to differential exposure, disgust sensitivity, and reporting biases were significantly correlated with overall homonegativity and revealed significant gender differences. However, only one of these variables (self-reported familiarity with at least one gay man) showed a significantly stronger correlation with homonegativity among males (r = -.48) than females (r = -.23; Fisher's z = -2.22, p = .03). Thus, the study failed to convincingly show that differential exposure, disgust, or reporting biases explain the gender difference in overall homonegativity. As a result, we propose utilizing a new paradigm of implicit cognitive systems. Implicit social cognition provides researchers with a distinctly social psychological representation of what is considered an abstract cognitive construct of prejudice and stereotyping. This could better account for the inexplicable sex differences in functions of attitudes toward homosexuals. Thus, people may not be aware of their existing automatic biases. Researching cognitive processes that contribute to automatic biases against homosexuals is a logical step, as self-report measures may lack validity and do not always capture people’s true attitudes toward members of social outgroups. We suggest that categorical processing of social information, such as prejudice against outgroup members may operate automatically. The sequential semantic priming technique, for example, has been a reliable methodology in assessing the strength of implicit associations that are not typically reflected in self-reported attitudes.