Why do we get disgusted

Source: Atlas of Emotions. What disgusts us. Common disgust triggers:. Development of disgust. Recognizing disgust. Facial expression of disgust. Vocal expressions of disgust. Physical sensations of disgust. Posture of disgust. The function of disgust.

Benefits of disgust. Dangers of disgust. Reacting to disgust. Additional Resources. Search Submit Clear. Paul Ekman. On the other hand, we can stigmatize and marginalize groups we do not identify with, stereotyping them as morally corrupt or disgusting. Among neuroscientists, disgust is seen as a motivational system that evolved to help us avoid dangers such as pathogens or toxins.

Through such a reflex, the human body attempts to rid itself of dangerous substances or materials, or prevent itself from coming into contact with them. Why, then, do we have the capacity to become disgusted in situations that do not pose an immediate threat to our well-being? The visceral reaction we have to things we find repulsive, including negative responses to people or behaviors, is not innate, but learned.

It may be this aspect of disgust that drives repulsion from people we see as different from ourselves. This article is part of a series on accepting difficult emotions. I hope that this series will contribute to understanding and accepting some of the more challenging aspects of the shared human experience. Disgust is a common experience and has many different descriptions in everyday language. People describe disgust as an icky, yucky, gross, or as a vile or revolting feeling.

Lower level disgust is characterized by words such as dislike, aversion, distaste. People loathe disgusting things. On a physical level, disgust can lower our blood pressure, cause stomach discomfort and cause muscles in the face to tighten up in a characteristic facial expression of disgust.

Disgust causes an intense urge to avoid something gross and a desire to prevent spreading the grossness to other places. Disgust by its very nature is unlikable. You could not have the feelings of disliking anything without a mild sense of disgust. Even though disgust is unlikable, it has a critical role in keeping people safe. Disgust serves the purpose of protecting us from being around things that can make us sick, like rotten food and waste products.

People are disgusted by death, unfamiliar foods, animals, insects, sexual taboos, and bodily injuries that distort the body like compound fractures. You can probably think of various sports injuries, foods, and animals that personally cause you to become disgusted.

What makes matters more complex is that we can also feel disgusted with things that have touched things that we find disgusting.