Disgust Associated With Culture Mixing

Abstract

Humans possess evolved mechanisms to detect and reject contamination by potentially harmful foreign substances. These mechanisms may also function in the rejection of violations in the social order. Here, we propose that the disgust evaluation system may also be sensitive to culture mixing, especially when elements of own and foreign cultures occupy the same space at the same time (culture fusion). Across four studies, we observe support for this prediction. Paralleling disgust ratings for contaminants mixing with pure objects associated with the self (Study 1A), representations of blending and fusion between elements of own and foreign cultures were rated as more disgusting than simultaneous presentation of the same cultural elements without fusion (Studies 1B and 2). Disgust toward culture fusion was observed over and above incongruity associated with mixing two in-group cultural representations (Study 4). Moreover, selective disgust toward in-group–out-group culture fusion was especially pronounced among those endorsing higher levels of patriotism (Studies 1B, 2, and 4), but not when culture fusion involved two foreign representations (Study 3). These findings support the notion that the architecture for pathogenic- and food-based disgust may have been extended to reject external threats to the fidelity of in-group identity markers by out-group influences.

The diversity of cultural diversity: Psychological consequences of different patterns of intercultural contact and mixing

“…This can range from simultaneous co‐presentation of distinct cultural elements (without actual contact between them) to actual overlap between them (superimposition), in which two cultural representations are occupying the same space or entity, yet maintain their distinct and identifiable characteristics (e.g., a McDonald's restaurant at the Great Wall of China) (Yang, Chen, Xu, Preston, & Chiu, ). The most complete and integrated form of culture mixing is reflected by culture fusion , in which features of distinct cultural representations are mixed together to create a new entity simultaneously possessing features of its different cultures of origin (Cheon, Christopoulos, & Hong, ; Cui, Xu, Wang, Qualls, & Hu, ). Possibly the most widely studied form of culture mixing to date has been simultaneous presentation, which also has been referred to as joint presentation, side‐by‐side presentation, or cultural co‐presence (Chen et al., ; Cheng, Leung, & Wu, ; Chiu et al., ; Morris, Mok, & Mor, ; Peng & Xie, ; Torelli, Chiu, Tam, Au, & Keh, ).…”

“…Other patterns of culture mixing more explicitly imply an intrusive presence or “invasion” of one culture by another, such as superimposition and fusion. Compared to less intrusive forms of culture mixing (e.g., simultaneous presentation), superimposition and fusion may risk predominantly more exclusionary reactions to culture mixing based on perceptions of symbolic threat and contamination of one's own culture by foreign or outgroup elements (Cheon et al., ; Cui et al., ; De Keersmaecker et al., ; Yang et al., ).…”

“…Although experimental research into the psychological responses to culture mixing (particularly culture fusion) may sometimes appear unnatural or to possess low ecological validity to present unambiguously mixed stimuli and maintain experimental control (Cheon et al., ; Cui et al., ; Yang et al., ), examples of cultural mixing abound in the real world. New languages that emerge based on the mixtures and fusion of originally distinct languages, such as Creole and pidgin languages, are one prominent example.…”

“…For instance, people with higher levels of NFC are less tolerant of culture fusion and more motivated to categorize culturally fused items into a single culture rather than as a hybrid (De Keersmaecker et al., ). NFC also has been associated with increased feelings of disgust toward culturally fused items (Cheon et al., ). Individual differences in NFC not only may moderate immediate reactions to culture mixing itself but also downstream psychological consequences of exposure to mixing.…”

The influence of global and local iconic brand positioning on advertising persuasion in an emerging market setting

“…As a result, the perceived incompatibility between the respective cultures is enlarged, leading to feelings of 'cultural contamination' (Torelli, Chiu, Tam, Au, & Keh, 2011). The fusion of one's own and a foreign culture within one object could even give rise to disgust (Cheon, Christopoulos, & Hong, 2016).…”