Disgust

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Disgust
What is disgust?
Disgust is one of the six universal emotions and arises as a feeling of aversion towards
something offensive. We can feel disgusted by something we perceive with our physical senses
(sight, smell, touch, sound, taste), by the actions or appearances of people, and even by ideas.
Feeling disgust
Disgust contains a range of states with varying intensities from mild dislike to intense loathing.
All states of disgust are triggered by the feeling that something is aversive, repulsive and/or
toxic.
Source: Atlas of Emotions
Disgust may also alternate with the feeling of anger if the disgusted person is angry about being
made to feel disgust.
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What disgusts us
The universal trigger for disgust is the feeling that something is offensive, poisonous or
contaminating. We can feel disgusted by something we perceive with our physical senses (sight,
smell, touch, sound, taste), by the actions and appearances of people, and even by ideas. Some
triggers for disgust are universal (such as encountering certain bodily products) whereas other
triggers are much more culturally and individually influenced (such as certain types of food).
There is an ongoing debate within the scientific community as to whether certain forms of
interpersonal and social disgust (being disgusted by another person’s appearance, actions, ideas
or social standing) are learned and culture-specific or whether they exist in some form across all
cultures. For example, everyone may have disgust reactions to a “morally tainted” person, but
what is considered “morally tainted” might vary across cultures.
Common disgust triggers:

Expelled bodily products such as feces, vomit, urine, mucus and blood
Certain foods (often from cultures other than our own)
Something rotting, diseased or dying
Injuries, surgeries and/or being exposed to bodily insides
A person, animal or thing one considers physically ugly
Perceived perversions or actions of other people (such as certain sexual inclinations, abuse,
subservience)
A person doing something that you do not like (this can start small and build over time such as
annoying habits, rudeness, disrespect)
Development of disgust
Children and adolescents often have a fascination with disgust as do some adults (including
finding disgusting things humorous and/or intriguing). For young children, however, disgust
doesn’t begin to develop until sometime between the ages of four and eight. Before that
emotional development, children experience distaste, the rejection of things that taste bad, but
not disgust.
Additional studies have shown that kids aren’t bothered by some of the things that adults find
disgusting (e.g., eating a bar of chocolate shaped like dog feces). One theory is that when we are
younger, we do not yet have the cognitive capacity necessary for certain forms of learned
disgust.
The conditioned disgust response

Over time, disgust and our response to it, puts stress on our bodies, conditioning us to be more
skeptical of a person’s actions than we would be if we felt neutral about them. “In the mind, the
neural connections become stronger and cause us to dwell more on the negative aspects of that
person,” says Marsden. “Even if they were to do something positive, we’d pay more attention to
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the negative because that’s what we’ve trained our brain to do.” This explains why we have a
seemingly endless list of negative facts about people we dislike, even if our rational brain would
tell us there has to be something redeeming about them.
This heightened arousal of our instincts causes us to dread future interactions with people we
dislike. In turn, this conditions us into even further dislike of that person, which just validates our
negative feelings. In this way, our distaste for another person becomes like a snake eating its tail:
we dislike them because they make us feel bad, and we feel bad because we dislike them.
Recognizing disgust
The facial expression of disgust

The most easily recognizable and obvious sign of disgust is the wrinkling of the nose.
Vocal expressions of disgust

Common vocal expressions are making a “yuck” or “ew” sound, choking, and gagging.
Physical sensations of disgust

Common sensations include revulsion in the mouth, throat, and/or stomach, and nausea, or
physical repulsion (i.e., vomiting).
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Posture of disgust
Disgust often leads to physically turning the head or body away from the source of disgust.
When disgust leads to nausea, reactions also include covering the nose/mouth and hunching
over.
The function of disgust

The universal function of disgust is to get away from, block off, or eliminate something
offensive, toxic or contaminating.
Benefits of disgust
One evolutionary benefit of disgust is to keep us away from or remove things potentially
dangerous or damaging to keep us safe and healthy (e.g., not eating something putrid, staying
away from open sores to avoid catching an infection or disease, avoiding interactions with
“morally tainted” people).
Dangers of disgust
While there are noted benefits to feeling disgust, it can also be dangerous. Unfortunately, most
societies teach the avoidance of certain groups of people deemed physically or morally
disgusting and, thus, can be a driving force in dehumanizing and degrading others.
Reacting to disgust
While witnessing “gross” bodily functions (bleeding, defecating, etc.) in others often evokes
disgust, this reaction is suspended when it is someone with whom we are close. Intimacy lowers
the threshold for what we consider disgusting. So, while we still may feel some degree of
disgust, it is reduced enough that we are able to help those we care about. Now, rather than try to
get away, we are called to reduce the suffering of the loved one (e.g., changing a baby's diaper or
taking care of a sick family member). This suspension of disgust establishes intimacy and may
even strengthen love and community.
References
Disgust. (2020, January 30). Paul Ekman Group. https://www.paulekman.com/universal-
emotions/what-is-disgust/
What happens in our brain when we dislike somebody. (n.d.). Headspace.
https://www.headspace.com/articles/when-we-dislike-somebody

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Source: Atlas of Emotions

Common disgust triggers:

The conditioned disgust response

The facial expression of disgust

Vocal expressions of disgust

Physical sensations of disgust

The function of disgust

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