Woody, R.,  & Teachman,  B. We found that religious scrupulosity may be driven by sensitivity to disgust, particularly strong feelings of disgust for germs and sexual practices but, paradoxically, not for general immorality. Developmental psychologists have been piecing together the typical ontogenetic trajectory of disgust, the emergence of its different components during childhood and adolescence, and its progression from being mostly concerned with brute physical food- and body-based cues to becoming increasingly alert to and involved in social dynamics. Miller, Susan. Likewise, sin (a transgression against a divine law) or fear of sin, drives certain behaviour. Details our anxious relation to bodily processes, but explains that disgust moves beyond the physical, having a substantial influence on social hierarchy. Available online by subscription or purchase. Incorporates interesting discussion of disgust’s relationship to sensory modalities such as hearing. For many with religious beliefs, the fear of a god (or gods) and their wrath appears enough to keep them on the straight and narrow. Originally published in 1966, Douglas’s work is influential across a range of disciplines, from religious studies to social theory. The facial display of disgust, which often involves tightening the upper lip and wrinkling the nose, creates a physical barrier that prevents the intake of potential contaminants. A. Understanding how religion – and its echoes in secular belief systems – motivates people to behave in certain ways is increasingly important in a culture in which people often have multiple, changing identities. Participants who saw the germ-related images expressed feeling dramatically more disgust and reported more extreme levels of religious scrupulosity in terms of fear of sin, but not fear of God. (2000). This account of disgust explains disgust as an attempt to set boundaries to chaos and illuminates what Miller argues is disgust’s positive role in removing our ultimate ambivalence toward life. 2011. Effects of images about fear and disgust upon responses to blood-injury phobic stimuli. In fact, disgust sensitivity can also affect reactions to the behaviours of other people. Hepburn, T., & Page, A. The question of what actually drives people to behave in a religious way has vexed philosophers for millennia. It traces out the many tendrils disgust puts into unexpected areas of our lives, including sex, law, politics, and the ways that experiencing disgust can, in the right circumstances, be oddly pleasurable. (1999). Disgust operates in the moral and aesthetic domains as well, imbuing a class of norms with its singular phenomenology and motivational force, the effects and implications of which have been investigated and debated by psychologists, anthropologists, and philosophers. The nature and moral significance of disgust. Evaluative conditioning: A possible explanation for the acquisition of disgust responses? Miller 2004 discusses the relationship between disgust and other emotions and explores how the emotion helps agents come to an understanding of self and other. Schienle, A., Stark, , & Vaitl, D. (2001). Although there is much dispute about exactly what emotions are, everyone, starting with Charles Darwin in the 19th century, agrees that disgust is one of them. Haidt, J., McCauley, C., & Rozin, P. (1994). © Copyright 2020 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. Press. Disgust may influence the development of religious scrupulosity or vice versa, or it may be some combination of the two. Surveys the empirical literature on disgust and then provides an account of disgust’s evolutionary origins which draws on gene-culture coevolutionary theory in order to explain how disgust has come to play certain roles in our moral psychology. Edited by Michael Lewis, J. M. Haviland-Jones, and L. F. Barrett. Authors agree that disgust was a joint cultural and evolutionary product, but differ in emphasis. A perspective on disgust. Kelly, Dan. Adoption, Social, Psychological, and Evolutionary Perspect... Attachment in Social and Emotional Development across the ... Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Adults. Suggests that an understanding of the emotion could help us utilize it toward better ends. Disgust is perhaps most often associated with foul-tasting foods and other substances or people that might spread disease. It serves as a case study in debates about the nature of emotions themselves, their relationship to cognition and affect, whether and how much they might be innately constrained or socially constructed, which parts might be universal (and uniquely) human, and which can vary across cultures and eras, malleable in the face of diverse social influences. Individual Differences in Attachment Relationships. Religious beliefs and behaviours are without a doubt influenced by faith and dogma, and are often rooted in centuries of devout practice.