Considering uncontaminated food as an early-emerging and previously ignored disgust elicitor.

Abstract

The present studies examine developmental changes in the elicitors of disgust by examining adults' and children's ideas of what is disgusting. In three experiments, we asked adults and children between the ages of 3 and 12 to report what is "disgusting," what is "gross," or what might have caused someone to make a disgust face. In Study 1, parents of 3-to 12-year-old children (n = 120) were asked what they thought was disgusting and what they thought their children would find disgusting and completed a picky eating questionnaire to examine the extent to which children's eating habits may be related to disgust. In Studies 2 and 3 (n = 98 per study), children were asked what they thought was disgusting. In Study 3, children's parents also completed a questionnaire about their child's food pickiness. Typically eaten foods that were not contaminated or spoiled were frequently mentioned in all studies, both by children and their parents. There was considerable diversity in the disgust elicitors that were mentioned across participants, highlighting the importance of examining individual differences in the development of disgust.

Disgusting Democrats and Repulsive Republicans: Members of Political Outgroups Are Considered Physically Gross

“…As of now, it remains controversial whether social stimuli such as outgroup members elicit physical, as opposed to moral or metaphorical, disgust. Previous research suggests that disgust—of some variety or another—can arise from unpleasant but non-contaminating stimuli (DeJesus et al, in press). Most notably, disgust can be elicited by people who are marginalized, stigmatized, or considered morally corrupt (e.g., Doran, 2021; Giner-Sorolla & Chapman, 2017; Harris & Fiske, 2006; Petersen, 2017; Ritter & Preston, 2011).…”