Sexual Disgust Research Articles

The Ubiquitous External Ejaculation: Examining Perceptions of Sexual Images Across Cultures.

The persistent debates over pornography have often focused on differences between males and females, not only in the frequency of consumption or the type of material consumed, but also on the different ways that individuals may perceive sexually explicit images and respond to them. Some of these differences may be due to sex differences in a number of factors including sexual strategies, pathogen or sexual disgust, and own mate value as well as within sex differences in these factors. Previous studies have demonstrated that perceptions of sexually explicit images are influenced by the sex of the target in the image and the target's emotional affect, as well as sex of the respondent, their sexual orientation, short-term mating orientation, and disgust measures. However, these previous studies were conducted with participants from the United States alone. This study compared the findings from these US samples to those from non-Western ones (Philippines and Brazil) in order to examine the replicability across cultures of the US results as well as whether some variables (religiosity, for example) account for more or less of the variance in perceptions in different populations. Results indicated that there were some differences in terms of the amount of variance in perceptions explained by different variables across populations. Participant and stimuli related variables explained more variance in the Philippines while individual difference variables accounted for more variance in Brazil.

Predictors and memory consequences of dating decisions in a dating app-analogue study.

With the rise of dating apps, people have access to a vast pool of potential partners at their fingertips. The present study examined how various factors would predict an individual's dating decisions in a dating app-analogue study. Participants (N = 269) first completed some trait measures and then a mock-dating task in which they judged the attractiveness of a series of targets and then decided whether to match with the target or not. Their memories for the targets were tested on the second day. People who were more (vs. less) short-term oriented were more likely to match with short-term-oriented targets. Moral disgust and sexual disgust negatively predicted the matching with short-term-oriented targets. Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find support that people with higher (vs. lower) pathogen disgust sensitivity would selectively match with more attractive targets. Exploratory analyses showed that people who were more (vs. less) short-term oriented, more (vs. less) sexually attractive, or had higher (v. lower) mate value, were more likely to match with targets they considered as attractive. Finally, people have better memories of the faces they chose to match than to not match. Implications for mating research and limitations are discussed.

Disgust as a basic, sexual, and moral emotion.

Disgust is a basic emotion that increases the organism's survival success by preventing the transfer of pathogens. In this regard, it directs cognitive processes and motivates avoidance behaviors that prevent pathogens from entering the body. Moreover, disgust has many specific characteristics that distinguish it from other basic emotions. Firstly, unlike other basic emotions, it contaminates neutral objects around it and causes difficult-to-change learning. Another specific characteristic of disgust is that it depends on ideational processes. Objects, situations, and behaviors that do not contain pathogens can also cause disgust. In this regard, disgust appears not only as a basic emotion but also as different adaptations in different fields. In this context, two distinct adaptations of disgust stand out: sexual and moral disgust. These two adaptations of disgust benefit from disgust-related behaviors and motivations in different ways. Sexual disgust works as a gene protection mechanism, while moral disgust helps maintain social rules. The specific characteristics of disgust and its effects on cognitive processes such as attention and memory interact. In conclusion, the multifaceted structure of disgust shows that it needs to be studied more in the subfields of psychology. (Strohminger, Philos Compass 9:478-493, 2014) defines disgust as a psychological nebula that needs to be discovered. However, it is observed that disgust has not been adequately addressed. This review aims to comprehensively explore unique characteristics and diverse aspects of disgust, shedding light on its significance from various perspectives. This study underscores the broader understanding of disgust and its pivotal role in psychological research.

In obsessive-compulsive disorder, autogenous and reactive obsessions are differentiated by disgust and mating strategies

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been conceptualized as the product of dysfunctional harm prevention systems accompanied by heightened negative emotions like disgust. However, models have not fully accounted for functional heterogeneity in OCD, such as the distinction between OCD subtypes (autogenous vs. reactive) and their differing profiles of relationships with other psychological constructs. The current investigation tested hypotheses about different expected associations between OCD subtypes, disgust, and mating strategies. In Study 1 (patients with self-reported diagnoses of OCD; n = 70), reactive obsessions were associated with higher pathogen disgust but had no associations with mating strategy. Autogenous obsessions had no associations with disgust domains but were associated with higher short-term (and lower long-term) mating orientation. In Study 2 (undergraduate sample; n = 458), reactive obsessions, again, were associated with heightened pathogen disgust but again had no association to mating strategy. Autogenous obsessions were associated with lower pathogen, moral, and sexual disgust, and again, higher short-term (and lower long-term) mating orientation. In both studies, we tested sexual disgust as a mediator of the relationship between autogenous obsessions and short-term mating. Significant mediation was found in Study 2, but not Study 1. Results demonstrate that reactive and autogenous forms of OCD are differentiated by disgust and mating strategy and have implications for evolutionary models of OCD.

(056) The Association Between Disgust Sensitivity, Sexual Desire, Relationship Satisfaction in Finland

Abstract Introduction Disgust is a basic emotion directed towards certain objects to avoid harm (Angyal, 1941), mainly pathogens. Research, however, has proposed a heterogeneity of disgust beyond pathogen avoidance to generate the functional model, which proposed the functionally distinct domains of disgust: moral, pathogen, and sexual. This model proposes that sexual disgust is an avoidance of sexual contact with unfit partners that may yield unfit offspring (Tybur & de Vries, 2013), this may be due to other anxiety related disorders (Davey, 2011 and Troop et al., 2002) Objective This study focuses on the association between disgust sensitivity with sexual desire, and relationships satisfaction. Hypothesis: elevated levels of disgust sensitivity are negatively associated with sexual desire and relationship satisfaction. Methods Invitation letters were sent out to the registered Finnish population in the Finnish Central Population Registry to participate in a(n) (online) survey, 9,319 individuals responded to the invitation and completed the survey and agreed to participate in the research. The tools used in this study were Perceived Relationship Quality Component (PRQC), Sexual Desire Inventory (SDI), and the Three-Disgust Domain Scale (TDDS). Results The results indicate that the sexual desire and sexual disgust sensitivity, are negatively correlated, the relationship satisfaction correlations are positive except the men pathogen disgust which is a negative correlation between pathogen disgust sensitivity and relationship satisfaction. The correlation between the study variables indicated that among men and women sexual disgust is negatively correlated with sexual desire, and the correlation of relationship satisfaction and sexual disgust was positively correlated. Conclusions The results show the negative association of sexual disgust with sexual desire, but there is a positive relationship between sexual disgust and relationship satisfaction. Disclosure No.

Pathogens or promiscuity? Testing two accounts of the relation between disgust sensitivity and binding moral values.

A recurrent observation in the field of moral psychology is that disgust sensitivity is associated with greater moralization of the binding (and particularly sanctity) moral domains. It is generally assumed that these effects are the result of disgust's role as an emotion that motivates pathogen avoidance (i.e., the pathogen avoidance account), yet alternative disgust-based accounts of moralization, namely those grounded in sexual avoidance (i.e., the promiscuity avoidance account), might also explain these observations. Across two studies (total N = 2,718), involving 10 diverse samples (from Australia, the United States, and Brazil), we found that after controlling for the shared variance of pathogen and sexual disgust, only measures of sexual disgust exhibited a positive (and strong) association with the binding moral foundations. These results argue against the pathogen avoidance account of disgust-binding effects and instead support the promiscuity avoidance account. Above all, this work highlights the utility of delineating the dimensionality of disgust to better characterize the different disgust-based motives underlying moral cognition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Linking disgust and misophonia: The role of mental contamination

Aim of the studyIn the current study, the authors sought to examine whether the link between moral and sexual disgust and misophonia is mediated by mental contamination.Subject or material and methodsAn internationally diverse sample of 283 adults (193 females, 76 males, and 14 non-binary individuals) ranging in age from 18 to 60 years old was recruited from online social media platforms and survey recruitment sites. The sample completed an online battery of scales that consisted of the New York Misophonia Scale, State Metal Contamination Scale, and the Three-Domain Disgust Scale. The hypotheses were evaluated using a series of mediations. performed using the PROCESS add-on in SPSS.ResultsCorrelations were found between emotional and aggressive-avoidant reactions in misophonia, mental contamination, pathogen disgust, and sexual disgust. Moral disgust and non-aggressive reactions in misophonia failed to correlate significantly with any of the other constructs. Sexual disgust had direct and indirect effects while pathogen disgust had only direct effects on aspects of misophonia.DiscussionThese findings partially support our hypothesis that mental contamination mediates the link between disgust propensity and misophonia while also confirming that pathogen-based disgust is not associated with mental contamination.ConclusionsFindings imply that misophonia is distinct from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Further research into the conceptualization of moral disgust is warranted.

Female Affective Perception of Mainstream and Paraphilic Pornography: Associations with Sexual and Psychological Intrapersonal Variables

Understanding affective perceptual processes can further contribute to the explanation of motivation and actions, as well as sexual risk behaviors. Pornography can be considered salient emotional content and is popular, also among females. Yet, the female perspective on pornography has often been overlooked and it remains unclear how individual variables may be associated with the affective perception of pornography and could provide a risk profile. Possible associations between several sexual and psychological intrapersonal variables and the affective perception of various forms of pornography were analyzed from the female perspective. A sample of 231 females (M = 21.87 years; SD = 3.9 years) provided ratings of affective valence, arousal, disgust, and moral and ethical acceptance for mainstream pornographic and paraphilic images of dominance, submission, or sexual violence. Paraphilic pornography was perceived as less pleasant, arousing, and moral and ethically acceptable, but more disgusting compared to mainstream pornography. This was more pronounced among females who had never consumed pornography. Results further suggest that the female affective perception of pornography was associated with the following sexual intrapersonal variables: sexual sensation seeking for physical sensations, erotophilia, lack of sexual control, problematic pornography consumption, and sexual disgust sensitivity. Of the assessed psychological intrapersonal variables, only anxiety was negatively associated with disgust for paraphilic pornography. It is important to further analyze the female affective perception of pornography and associated variables to include them in strategies for prevention and for addressing problematic consequences of the acceptance of specific sexual content and behaviors, especially related to sexualized violence.

Pandemic elevates sensitivity to moral disgust but not pathogen disgust

The behavioral immune system, with disgust as its motivational part, serves as the first line of defense in organisms’ protection against pathogens. Laboratory studies indicate that disgust sensitivity adaptively adjusts to simulated environmental threat, but whether disgust levels similarly change in response to real-life threats, such as a pandemic, remains largely unknown. In a preregistered within-subject study, we tested whether the threat posed by the Covid-19 pandemic would lead to increased perceived disgust. The perception of threat was induced by testing during two phases of the Covid-19 pandemic (periods of high vs. low pathogen threat). We found heightened levels of moral disgust during a “wave” of the pandemic, but the effect was not observed in the domain of pathogen or sexual disgust. Moreover, the age of respondents and levels of trait anxiety were positively associated with pathogen and moral disgust, suggesting that variation in disgust sensitivity may be based chiefly on stable characteristics.

Bidirectional relationship between sexual arousal and (sex-related) disgust.

Sexual stimuli provoke both sexual arousal and disgust, and the coaction between these emotions determines sexually behavioral outcomes. The current research includes two experiments to explore the bidirectional relationship between sexual arousal toward erotic stimuli and disgust induced by sexual body fluids. Study 1 presented 234 participants (117 women) with sexual body (vs. neutral) fluids followed by erotic stimuli, and Study 2 presented 235 participants (117 women) with erotic (vs. neutral) videos followed by sexual body fluids (and a non-sex-related stimulus). Study 1 showed that exposure to sexual body fluids reduced sexual arousal and the likelihood of sexual engagement toward erotic stimuli in participants with high sexual disgust sensitivity but increased sexual arousal and the likelihood of sexual engagement in participants with low sexual disgust sensitivity, while Study 2 suggested that men exposed to erotic (vs. neutral) stimuli reported lower disgust, stronger sexual arousal state, and higher willingness to interact with the sexual body fluids. There was no relationship between subjective feelings of sexual arousal and disgust in these experiments, while the balance of sexual arousal and disgust toward sexual body fluids and erotic stimuli had a positive association. Also, exposure to erotic stimuli had no effect on reactions to generally disgusting stimulus, but feelings of sexual arousal toward erotic stimuli were positively associated with disgust induced by generally disgusting fluid. These findings suggest that Behavior Immune System regulates disgust to establish a balance between benefit and cost related to sex as well as provide insight into the process underlying sexual dysfunctions.

Self-Disgust and Sexual Functioning: A Scenario-Based Study Testing the Ability of Sex-Related Experiences to Elicit Self-Directed Disgust

ABSTRACT Increasing evidence indicates that disgust might compromise sexual functioning and can contribute to sexual problems. Although the stimuli and conditions that elicit disgust vary greatly across individuals, they cluster in three categories of disgust elicitors: Stimuli that are associated with an increased risk of the transmission of infectious diseases (pathogen disgust), stimuli that signal poor mating quality and may jeopardize reproductive success (sexual disgust), and behaviors that violate social norms (moral disgust). It has been argued that each of these categories of disgust may interfere with sexual responses. Thus far, research on the role of disgust in sexual contexts focused on external stimuli (e.g., sperm). Yet, recently it has been proposed that disgust can also become directed to features of the self. Such self-directed disgust may also apply to sexual contexts and contribute to sexual problems. As a first step to explore the relevance of self-disgust in sexual functioning, we tested if indeed particular sexual experiences have the ability to elicit self-disgust. Using a within subject design, participants (N = 124; all women) imagined themselves as well as others experiencing a series of sex-related scenarios, each relevant for one of the three categories of disgust, and subsequently rated their self-disgust. For all types of disgust, the scenarios evoked self-disgust, and the “self-perspective” elicited significantly more self-disgust than the “other-perspective.” These findings support theoretical models pointing to the relevance of taking self-disgust into consideration as a factor that may compromise sexual functioning. Future research should test whether this also holds for men.

Specificity Versus Generality: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Association Between Trait Disgust Sensitivity and Moral Judgment

Disgust seems to play an important role in moral judgment. However, it is unclear whether the role of disgust in moral judgment is limited to certain kinds of moral domains (versus many) and/or certain types of disgust (versus many). To clarify these questions, we conducted a multilevel meta-analysis ( k = 512; N = 72,443) on relations between trait disgust sensitivity and moral judgment (disgust-immorality association). Main analyses revealed a significant overall mean disgust-immorality association ( r = .23). Additionally, moderator analyses revealed significant specificity in disgust type and moral domain (grounded in Moral Foundations Theory): effects were stronger for (a) sexual disgust compared to pathogen disgust, (b) sanctity moral judgments compared to other domains of moral judgments, and (c) sexual-sanctity associations compared to other disgust type-moral domain pairings.

Far from disgusted: The relationships between disgust sensitivity, dark personality traits, and biological sex

Disgust is an avoidant emotion which repulses from potentially dangerous stimuli and situations. Operating in a social context, disgust may prevent from engaging in an unrestricted sociosexuality and from violating moral norms. Meanwhile, people high in dark personality traits prefer short-term mating strategy and exhibit a tendency to transgress moral standards. Thus, it might be assumed that they should have decreased both moral and sexual disgust. In a preregistered study (N = 450; 52 % female) we tested our assumptions by examining the relationships between Dark Triad, vulnerable narcissism, and disgust sensitivity in moral and sexual domains. We also asked whether higher psychopathy and Machiavellianism in men would explain sex discrepancy in sexual disgust sensitivity. The results confirmed most of our hypotheses and showed that a) sexual and moral disgust are consistently, negatively correlated with all Dark Triad traits; b) there are considerable sex differences in sexual disgust and psychopathy; and c) increased psychopathy in men partially explains their lower sexual disgust sensitivity comparing to women. This study has taken a novel perspective in this research area, and may indicate the role of decreased disgust sensitivity in transgressing social norms by individuals high in dark personality traits.

Sexual-specific disgust sensitivity mechanisms in homonegativity and transnegativity; the mediating role of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA)

ABSTRACT Disgust specific to sexual stimuli has been thought to be an adaptation that serves purposes of pathogen-avoidance, partner selection and social dominance. While the link between disgust responses and homonegative and transnegative attitudes has been relatively established, it is not yet clear why. Literature using evolutionary psychology perspectives of these phenomena is scarce in areas with substantial LGBT-related violence like Colombia. This research aimed to study the interplay of predispositional (e.g. sociodemographic, reported contact), affective (e.g. disgust sensitivity) and cognitive (e.g. Right-Wing Authoritarian) variables in homonegative and transnegative attitudes of Colombian adults. Participants (N = 272) had a mean age of 26.38 (SD = 9.47), women comprised 72% of the sample and men 28%. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that increased sexual specific disgust sensitivity and greater RWA predicted stronger homonegativity and transnegativity. The relationship between sexual disgust and prejudice was partially mediated by RWA. Findings suggest that sexual disgust sensitivity adaptations in homonegativity and transnegativity may respond to selection pressures that differ from pathogen-avoidance perspectives, and that are associated with maintaining social hierarchy and social dominance. Anti-prejudice initiatives would benefit from targeting emotional responses of sexual disgust, especially within communities and institutions that have historically endorsed conservative and traditional values.

Pornography's Ubiquitous External Ejaculation: Predictors of Perceptions.

One of the most contentious topics in the sexual arena is that of pornography. While some researchers focus on the costs and benefits of consumption, others focus on questions surrounding the objectification or degradation of women, with relatively little focus on the men involved, and the appeal of visual sexual stimuli more generally, including what that may tell us about the sexual interests of the consumers. In this study, we focus on what factors influence men's and women's perceptions of sexually explicit images, in particular the ubiquitous external ejaculation. Sex differences in perceptions of the images are examined as well as the influence of the emotional affect of the recipient of the ejaculation, the sexual orientation of the participant (are they looking at an image of their preferred sex or not), and a number of individual difference factors, including religiosity, Dark Triad personality traits, mate value, short-term mating strategy, and disgust sensitivity. Overall, the largest influences on perceptions were the direct effects of target emotional affect and sex, sex of viewer, sexual orientation of viewer, short-term mating orientation, and level of sexual disgust. In addition, substantial variation in perceptions was explained by the interaction between sex, sexual orientation, and target sex. The importance of positive affect in the images as well as the lack of association with psychopathy again suggests that the appeal (or at least the ubiquity of the images in pornographic material) is not rooted in degradation, but in some other aspect of short-term sexual psychology.

Disgust sensitivity predicts sociosexuality across cultures

Restricted sociosexuality has been linked to sexual disgust, suggesting that decreasing sexual behavior may be a pathogen avoidance technique. Using the behavioral immune system framework, which posits that humans experience disgust after exposure to pathogen cues, we replicate and expand on previous studies by analyzing the influence of three domains of disgust (sexual, moral, pathogen) on psychological (desire and attitude) and behavioral domains of sociosexuality (SOI) in four diverse samples: American university students (n = 155), Salvadoran community members (n = 98), a global online sample (n = 359), and a four-country online sample (US, India, Italy, and Brazil; n = 822) collected during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In contrast with previous studies, we account for shared variance in sexual, pathogen, and moral disgust by entering all three in a multiple regression to predict composite SOI. In both large samples, sexual disgust and pathogen disgust had opposing effects on composite SOI; that is, higher sexual disgust and lower pathogen disgust were associated with more restricted composite SOI. Additionally, we constructed a multi-group structural equation model (SEM) to determine the impact of each domain of disgust on each domain of SOI across all our samples simultaneously, while controlling for age and sex. Within this model we also assessed how the psychological domains of SOI – attitude and desire – mediate the relationship between disgust and sociosexual behavior. Pathogen disgust positively predicted SOI attitude and desire, but not behavior, consistently across all groups. SOI behavior was only predicted by pathogen disgust when mediated by SOI attitude, again across all groups, suggesting that behavior seems to be driven largely by the psychological facets of SOI. We discuss these findings in light of the behavioral immune system and the bet-hedging hypothesis, which make opposing predictions on the relationship between infection risk and sexual behavior.

Physical disability in romantic partner: Behavioral immune system theory fails to explain why women and men differ in their perceptions of potential romantic partners who are physically disabled

The research on mate choice has neglected preference for romantic partners of physically disabled individuals. In the present study we tested attractiveness evaluation of disabled individuals in a romantic context. Additionally, and according to the disease-avoidance mechanism proposed by behavioral immune system theory, individual differences in disgust sensitivity should result in prejudicial and negative responses against individuals with physical disabilities. This experimental study is the first to put this hypothesis to the test. Participants were presented with visual stimuli differing as a function of physical disability and were asked to rate them for attractiveness as a romantic partner. The results showed that women rate physically disabled men as more attractive as romantic partners than nondisabled men, while men rated physically disabled women less attractive as romantic partners than physically nondisabled women. Neither the perceived vulnerability to disease subscales nor pathogen and sexual disgust were associated with ratings of attractiveness of the disabled opposite sex as a romantic partner. These findings are inconsistent with the proposed association of disgust sensitivity and prejudicial attitudes towards physically disabled individuals; and they suggest, for the first time, that the perceptual effects of romantic attraction are different from those of general attraction for men but not women.

Associations between subcategories of disgust sensitivity and homonegativity: examining intergroup contact as a moderator

ABSTRACT The present study examined the associations between three forms of disgust sensitivity (i.e. moral, pathogen, and sexual) and homonegativity towards gay men and lesbian women, based on the behavioural immune system (BIS) theory. Two forms of homonegativity were assessed: old-fashioned (i.e. moral and religious objections to homosexuality) and modern (i.e. objections to homosexuality that are grounded in beliefs such as sexual minorities demand and receive ‘preferential’ treatment). Frequency and valence of contact with sexual minorities also was measured. An online survey was completed by 263 self-identified heterosexual participants, a majority of whom were White (n = 173) and cisgender women (n = 192). Sexual disgust was the strongest predictor of old-fashioned homonegativity towards lesbian women, and pathogen disgust was the only predictor of old-fashioned homonegativity against gay men. No measures of disgust were statistically significant predictors of modern homonegativity. Both frequency and quality of intergroup contact played a significant role in moderating different effects of sexual disgust on homonegativity. The limitations of this study and directions for future research are outlined.

How disgust predicts the adoption of mate shortage solutions

When people cannot find desirable mating prospects, they may abstain, lower their standards, or travel farther to solve this mate shortage. We examined people's (N = 306) willingness to adopt these three solutions to mating shortages in relation to individual differences in disgust in men and women and for long-term and short-term partners. Those with more sexual disgust were more willing to abstain during a shortage of short-term mates and were less willing to lower their standards and to travel farther for short-term partners. Pathogen and moral disgust were associated with choosing to travel farther in the long-term contexts for men only. Our findings support the idea that how people evaluate costs and benefits in mating is expressed in their personality.

Treatments approved, boosts eschewed: Moral limits of neurotechnological enhancement

In six vignette-based experiments, we assessed people's moral reactions towards various cognition-enhancing brain implants, including their overall approval and perceived fairness, as well as the dehumanization of brain-implanted agents. Across the domains of memory (Studies 1–4, 6), general intelligence (Study 5A), and emotional stability (Study 5B), people in general approved of alleviating ailments, and even of attaining optimal human performance, but expressed greater opposition towards superhuman levels of enhancement. Further analyses of individual differences indicated that the tendency to condemn transhumanist technologies, such as brain implants, was linked to sexual disgust sensitivity and the binding moral foundations – two characteristic correlates of a conservative worldview. In turn, exposure to science fiction was tied to greater approval of brain implants. We also examined potential idiosyncrasies associated with our stimulus materials and did not find reliable effects of any secondary factors on moral attitudes. Taken together, our studies reveal certain moral boundaries to neurotechnological enhancement, strong among those with conservative affective and moral dispositions but relaxed among those familiar with science fiction themes.