Yuck! What disgusts us and why, with Paul Rozin, PhD

Speaking of Psychology

Kim Mills

Health & Fitness, Life Sciences, Science, Mental Health

4.3 • 781 Ratings

🗓️ 19 February 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“Disgusting” is a flexible word – it could describe everything from a putrid smell to your least-favorite food to a behavior you find immoral. But what does it really mean to be disgusted? Paul Rozin, PhD, talks about where disgust comes from, why some people are more easily disgusted than others, universal triggers of disgust, why the foods we consider disgusting vary by culture, why is gross-out humor can be funny, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:27.9	slash UK slash AI for people. What's the last really gross thing you encountered? Was it a cockroach,
0:36.0	a dirty diaper? Yesterday's smelly garbage? Most of us are lucky if we go a
0:41.6	single day without encountering something we find at least a little revolting. But what does it
0:46.2	mean to call something disgusting? The word can describe everything from a putrid smell,
0:51.7	to our least favorite food, to the word moist. Over the past several decades,
0:57.1	psychologists have begun to dig into the concept of disgust, exploring where it comes from
1:02.9	and how many things it can stretch to encompass. So why do we feel disgust? Why are some people more
1:10.0	easily disgusted than others? Are babies born with the ability to feel disgust? Why are some people more easily disgusted than others? Are babies born with the
1:13.6	ability to feel disgust, or does it develop later in life? Is there anything that all humans find
1:19.7	disgusting? Why do the foods that we consider disgusting vary so much by culture or even by individual?
1:26.2	Why is gross humor funny, at least to some people?
1:29.3	And how might understanding discussed help us address some important public health issues?
1:35.5	Welcome to Speaking of Psychology, the flagship podcast of the American Psychological Association
1:41.0	that examines the links between psychological science and everyday life.
1:45.3	I'm Kim Mills.
1:48.7	My guest today is Dr. Paul Rosen, a professor emeritus of psychology, at the University of
1:54.5	Pennsylvania and one of the world's leading experts on the psychology of disgust.
1:59.8	He's been studying disgust in its many forms since the
2:03.0	1960s. His research has touched on human food choice, the development of food aversions,
2:09.5	attitudes toward meat, how disgust carries over to morality, attitudes toward recycled water,
	...

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