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Pathogens or promiscuity? Testing two accounts of the relation between disgust sensitivity and binding moral values
Michael R Donner1, Fabrício H Chagas-Bastos2, Richard W Jeremiah1
1Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne.
Emotion (Washington, D.C.)
|August 31, 2023
Summary
Disgust sensitivity links to moral judgments, but sexual disgust, not pathogen disgust, drives this connection. This suggests avoiding sexual risks, rather than disease, underlies moral concerns.
Area of Science:
- Moral Psychology
- Emotion Science
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Disgust sensitivity is linked to moralization of binding and sanctity domains.
- The pathogen avoidance account traditionally explains this link.
- Alternative accounts, like promiscuity avoidance, also exist.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the specific role of sexual versus pathogen disgust in moralization.
- To test the pathogen avoidance versus promiscuity avoidance accounts of disgust-binding effects.
Main Methods:
- Two studies with a total of 2,718 participants across 10 diverse samples (Australia, US, Brazil).
- Statistical analysis controlling for shared variance between pathogen and sexual disgust measures.
Main Results:
- Sexual disgust, not pathogen disgust, showed a strong positive association with binding moral foundations after controlling for shared variance.
- Results challenge the pathogen avoidance account.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the promiscuity avoidance account of disgust's influence on moral cognition.
- Delineating disgust dimensions is crucial for understanding disgust-based moral motives.
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