Disgust Sensitivity and Support for Organ Donation: Time to Take Disgust Seriously

Abstract

Background There are currently roughly 10,000 Germans on the organ waiting list, and that number is over 113,000 in the USA. There is a clear need to increase support for organ donation in general and to increase the number of registered donors in particular. Objective The current study examines the relationship between disgust sensitivity and attitudes towards organ donation and the possession of an organ donor card. The study also examines other important correlates of attitudes towards organ donation, such as fear, trust, and knowledge regarding organ donation. Design The study involved an online questionnaire. Participants Six hundred and eighteen Germans filled out an online questionnaire. Main Measures The questionnaire contained the following measures: attitude towards organ donation, disgust sensitivity, trust towards the medical community, fear of organ donation, and knowledge regarding organ donation, as well as such demographic information as age, biological sex, degree of formal education, religious affiliation and level of religiosity, political orientation, and possession of an organ donor card. Key Results The results replicated previous findings regarding the influence of trust and fear on attitudes towards organ donation, but only partially supported those regarding the importance of knowledge. Importantly, disgust sensitivity had a significant impact on attitudes towards organ donation, even after controlling for other variables hereto identified as important correlates in the literature (e.g., fear, trust, knowledge). What is more, there was a significant interaction between biological sex and disgust sensitivity indicating that the relationship between disgust sensitivity and attitudes towards organ donation was stronger among women than men. Conclusions While disgust is often disregarded as a “silly,” bairnish emotion and unbefitting of discussions of serious issues such as organ donation, in line with the “affective turn” in psychology, the results of the current study suggest that in order to improve attitudes towards organ donation, we should take feelings of disgust seriously.

Psychology of envy towards medical colleagues

“…51 Psychology science can also provide a language and logic for understanding such everyday pitfalls in human interactions for collegial medical care. 52 A priority for future research, therefore, is to directly test whether an understanding of the basic science can lead to less burn-out, more effective care and positive medical culture. 53 Traditional strategies for mitigating envy include immersion in another compelling activity, selfreflecting on future goals rather than interpersonal comparisons or talking honestly with a sympathetic trusted person.…”

“… 51 Psychology science can also provide a language and logic for understanding such everyday pitfalls in human interactions for collegial medical care. 52 A priority for future research, therefore, is to directly test whether an understanding of the basic science can lead to less burn-out, more effective care and positive medical culture. 53 …”

Who follows through? Different factors predict initial commitment vs. Following through in a national survey of organ donor registration

“…The first is the "ick factor," or the anticipated feelings of disgust evoked by organ donation. Such negative anticipated affect is associated with weaker intentions to register as an organ donor [25][26][27]. Second, deliberating about organ donation could serve to remind people that they are going to die and mortality salience may relate to donation motivation [28].…”