The main meaning of disgust is linked to the adaptation and survival of the organism, given that it often warns us of the potential danger of certain stimuli, such as pathogens contained in foods. Disgust, in fact, implies a feeling of repulsion and thoughts of potential contamination, accompanied by behaviors of avoiding the stimulus that is considered potentially contaminating, which in some cases can save us! The reaction to something that disgusts us is not only behavioral, but also physiological and expressive.
In fact, it serves to protect us from contact with stimuli that we consider potentially harmful or contaminating, which we perceive as dangers for our body and/or mind.
It is an emotion that we begin to feel since we are very young. In the beginning it occurs when children reject specific tastes and smells, while over time it finds itself being part of everything that is repugnant and dirty for us, including values, thoughts, people and which can even lead to ourselves
The different types of disgust
Scientific studies on disgust have identified different types of this primary emotion:
- core disgust: what emerges due to foods, animals and body products. Its purpose is to protect us from contamination;
- animal reminder disgust: a refusal that also concerns touch and sight and that is triggered by objects belonging to the domains of hygiene, death and violation of the body, therefore wounds, blood and the like;
- interpersonal disgust: interpersonal disgust, therefore direct or indirect contact with people who are considered unpleasant;
- moral disgust: moral disgust, i.e. the repulsion for events that we consider morally disgusting. It should be specified that, however, they are also strongly affected by the cultural influences of each people.
How it manifests itself
Disgust is considered a primary emotion also because it involves a specific bodily reaction. The facial expression that emerges when we are faced with something that generates that feeling that is more commonly called disgust, is known to everyone: we wrinkle our nose and raise our lip. If particularly intense we find ourselves with the lower eyelids raised and the eyebrows lowered.
The behaviors we implement have the aim of distancing us from what triggers disgust in us, and therefore we hold our nose, close our eyes, leave a room and so on.
From a physiological point of view, nausea could trigger in us. Disgust, in fact, is the only primary emotion that has a specific physiological activation, even defined as visceral.