Are disgust elicitors universal across populations?
Evolutionary perspectives suggest that disgust evolved to motivate the avoidance of pathogens. Hence, some disgust triggers should be universal, such as bodily wastes, rotten food, and infected wounds. Whether disgust extends to other types of behaviors and concepts – notably, immoral behaviors and concepts – is debated. In this study, we will ask participants to list all the things that make them feel disgust and rank bodily products by their disgust levels. We will then present diverse situations involving pathogens, immoral behaviors, physical trauma, violence, and positive events to test whether each is considered “disgusting”. This project will reveal universal disgust triggers across cultures, test whether certain bodily products are universally more disgusting than others, and compare the universality of disgust toward pathogen threats versus moral violations. For this last part of the project, we are also collaborating with anthropologists to gather data from populations with little (if any) formal education or access to the internet.
