Disgust Theory Through the Lens of Psychiatric Medicine

Abstract

The elicitors of disgust are heterogeneous, which makes attributing one function to disgust challenging. Theorists have proposed that disgust solves multiple adaptive problems and comprises multiple functional domains. However, theories conflict with regard to what the domains are and how they should be delineated. In this article, we examine clinical evidence of aberrant disgust symptoms in the contamination subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder, blood-injury-injection phobia, and posttraumatic stress disorder to adjudicate between two prevailing theories of disgust. We argue that the pattern of disgust sensitivities in these psychiatric disorders sheds new light on the domain structure of disgust. Specifically, the supported domain structure of disgust is likely similar to an adaptationist model of disgust, with more subdivisions of the domain of pathogen disgust. We discuss the implications of this approach for the prevention and treatment of psychiatric disorders relevant to disgust.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Disgust Proneness, Contamination Sensitivity, and Their Covariance

“…Additional supporting information can be found at http:// journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/2167702620951510 Note 1. We conducted similar analyses using the complete TDDS, which includes seven-item pathogen, sexual, and moral subscales (for a review of this instrument's clinical utility, see Amoroso et al, 2020). A factor analysis indicated four separate factors (contamination sensitivity and pathogen, sexual, and moral disgust).…”

“…Clinical research on disgust proneness has sparked hypotheses regarding the etiology of such disorders with the goal of tailoring interventions to target characteristics of disgust not shared by general anxiety or fear (e.g., its distinct developmental inputs, mechanistic underpinnings, and resistance to extinction; Amoroso et al, 2020; Knowles, Cox, Armstrong, & Olatunji, 2019; Olatunji et al, 2017). One prominent hypothesis suggests that higher disgust proneness leads to an overestimate of the threat posed by infectious disease, which in turn leads to vigilance toward pathogen cues and, consequently, downstream anxiety (Olatunji et al, 2017; Widen & Olatunji, 2016).…”

What Role Does Pathogen-Avoidance Psychology Play in Pandemics?

“…A rapidly expanding literature has revealed the implications of these aspects of the behavioral immune system for phenomena ranging from political ideology [26,27] to intergroup relations [24,28], to psychopathology [29][30][31]. Even so, the behavioral immune system framework might have more limited application to pandemics than researchers realize.…”

Effects of Pregnancy-Induced Psychological and Emotional Factors on the Occurrence of Preeclampsia/Eclampsia (PE-E) and Haemorrhage

“…Disgust may contribute to anxiety which also leads to obsessive disorder and may cause posttraumatic stress syndromes [30] which is likely to lead to maternal health complications. In this study, disgust is shown to be significantly associated with the development of PE-E, with 25.9% reduced odds of developing PE-E compared to those who were not disgusted during pregnancy.…”