Disgust sensitivity is associated with heightened risk perception

Disgust is a versatile emotion that is not only elicited by threats to one's physical health but that has also recently been linked to social and especially moral concerns. Building on the hypothesis that disgust can be seen as part of a broader loss aversion system, four studies demonstrate th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of risk research 2019-05, Vol.22 (5), p.627-642
Main Authors: Karg, Simon Tobias, Wiener-Blotner, Aaron, Schnall, Simone
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Avoidance behavior
Disgust
disgust sensitivity
emotion
Health problems
Health status
loss aversion
Risk
Risk perception
Trait anxiety
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Summary:Disgust is a versatile emotion that is not only elicited by threats to one's physical health but that has also recently been linked to social and especially moral concerns. Building on the hypothesis that disgust can be seen as part of a broader loss aversion system, four studies demonstrate that disgust sensitivity is linked to heightened risk perception. A preliminary study and Study 1 established a moderate correlation of disgust sensitivity with risk perception. Studies 2 and 3 confirmed the effect while controlling for potential affective influences, including current mood, or trait anxiety, respectively. Importantly, we find that the correlation is also independent of gender and age, and that disgust sensitivity is associated with a broad range of risk domains, including recreational, social, ethical, financial, and health and safety risks. Therefore, disgust may be part of a general risk aversion mechanism aimed at guiding behavior in uncertain situations.
ISSN:1366-9877
1466-4461
DOI:10.1080/13669877.2018.1474244