Defensive emotions and evaluative judgements: Sensitivity to anger and fear predicts moral judgements,whereas sensitivity to disgust predicts aesthetic judgements

Aesthetic and moral evaluations engage appetitive and defensive emotions. While the role played by pleasure in positive aesthetic and moral judgements has been extensively researched, little is known about how defensive emotions influence negative aesthetic and moral judgements. Specifically, it is unknown which defensive emotions such judgements tap into, and whether both kinds of judgement share a common emotional root. Here, we investigated how participants' individual sensitivity to disgust, fear, anger and sadness predicted subjective judgements of aesthetic and moral stimuli. Bayesian modelling revealed that participants who were more sensitive to anger and fear found conventional and moral transgressions more wrong. In contrast, participants who were more sensitive to disgust disliked asymmetrical geometric patterns and untidy rooms more. These findings suggest that aesthetic and moral evaluations engage multiple defensive emotions, not just disgust, and that they may rely on different defensive emotions as part of their computational mechanism.     

Sex,germs, and health: pathogen-avoidance motives and health-protective behaviour

Objective: Recent work suggests that the psychology of pathogen-avoidance has wide-reaching effects on how people interact with the world. These processes – part of what has been referred to as the behavioural immune system – are, in a way, our ‘evolved’ health psychology. However, scholars have scarcely investigated how the behavioural immune system relates to health-protective behaviours. The current research attempts to fill this gap.

Design: Across two cross-sectional studies (N = 386 and 470, respectively), we examined the relationship between pathogen-avoidance motives and health-protective behaviour.

Outcome Measures: The studies used self-reported measures of attitude and intention as indicators of health-protective behaviour.

Results: Data collected in Study 1 revealed that pathogen-avoidance motivation related to participants’ attitude and intention towards sexually transmitted infections screening. High levels of pathogen-avoidance motivation were also related to having had fewer sexual partners, which partially mediated the effect of pathogen-avoidance variables on testing motivation. Study 2 extended these findings by showing moderate associations between pathogen-avoidance motivation and a broad range of health-protective behaviours, including but not limited to pathogen-related health concerns.

Conclusion: We argue that understanding and targeting pathogen-avoidance psychology can add novel and important understanding of health-protective behaviour.     

The facial pattern of disgust, appetence, excited joy and relaxed joy: an improved facial EMG study

The purpose of the study was to investigate the facial muscle pattern of disgust in comparison to appetence and joy, using an improved facial EMG method. We analyzed the activity of nine facial muscles in forty healthy subjects. The subject group was randomly divided into two groups (oversaturated vs. hungry) of ten women and ten men each. Four different emotions (disgust, appetence, excited-joy and relaxed-joy) were induced by showing pictures from the IAPS. Pre-visible facial muscle activity was measured with a new facial EMG. A Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was established. Disgust is represented by a specific facial muscle pattern involving M.corrugator and M.orbicularis oculi, clearly distinguishing it from the facial patterns of appetence and joy. The intensity of disgust is stronger in a state of hunger than under oversaturation and is altogether stronger in females than in males. Our findings indicate the possibility to explore the entire emotion system successfully through a state-of-the-art psychophysiological method like our EMG device.     

Yikes! The Effect of Incidental Disgust and Information on Public Attitudes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Existing research has focused extensively on the role of emotions such as anger, fear, and enthusiasm in explaining public opinion, but less is known about the importance of disgust, an innate disease-related emotion. To study the independent and joint effects of disgust and information, I draw on the case of the COVID-19 pandemic. I demonstrate that experimentally induced incidental disgust and exposure to information about how to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 cases have distinctive effects on political, racial, and health attitudes. Independently, exposure to information affects preferences only for restrictive policies to fight the spread of the virus. In contrast, the stand-alone effect of incidental disgust, as well as its joint effect with exposure to information, are responsible for attitude change toward both pandemic-relevant and irrelevant policies, Asian minorities, and prevention measures. Importantly, the study finds that citizens respond symmetrically to disgusting stimuli and information across degrees of political awareness, ideology, partisan affiliation, and trait authoritarianism. The results draw attention to the far-reaching implications of disgust on public opinion under threatening conditions.     

Genetic counseling for the next 25 years: Models for the future

Currently, two trends pose particular challenges for genetic counseling: (1) spin offs from the Human Genome Project leading to new diagnostic genetic tests far in advance of any cures; and (2) an increasing and diversified client population. These trends will lead to changes in both genetic service delivery systems and the development of alternative models of the genetic counseling process itself. Two models that could be adapted for genetic counseling are: the mutual participation model and the life history narrative model. Technological advances present ethical dilemmas and raise many questions. Already, improved detection of genes for predisposing conditions has entered clinical medicine requiring renewed ethical appraisals of genetic testing. Integration of genetic counseling (and required pre-screening education) into primary care settings involves time constraints and the involvement of health care personnel with less training in genetics. Alternative approaches are beginning to be discussed. Innovative genetic counselors with expanded visions of counseling goals and practices will play an increasingly important role in the future of genetic counseling.     

厌恶情绪对法律判断的影响:基于进化心理学的视角

进化心理学认为,厌恶是人类在疾病、资源缺乏等适应性压力情境下,为抵御有害物质入侵通过自然选择而形成的进化心理机制。根据进化的观点,道德厌恶是由生理厌恶进化而来。道德厌恶有利于避免违反社会规范的行为。厌恶的激活会使道德判断更加苛刻,由此提出厌恶在法律判断中的几点启示:(1)避免直觉情绪对判断的干扰;(2)保持审议厅清洁,避免外在环境引起的厌恶情绪干扰法律判断;(3)对陪审团成员进行个体意识性和厌恶敏感性测量,避免道德过度警觉的现象发生。     

Depressive Symptomatology and College Persistence among African American College Students

ABSTRACT. While many studies find women self-report higher disgust sensitivity than men, few studies have examined gender differences with behavioral tasks in senses other than vision. On a haptic task, we tested the hypothesis that women would report greater disgust but not greater unpleasantness than men. Forty-four undergraduates (29 women) touched 8 out-of-sight stimuli with sensory (unpleasantness) and emotional (disgust) responses recorded. The stimuli consisted of 2 neutral, 2 pleasant, and 4 unpleasant (3 disgust-evoking) objects. No gender differences were found for reporting stimuli unpleasantness. In contrast, women rated their disgust significantly higher than men when touching the high disgust-evoking objects. Unpleasantness of the stimuli correlated with disgust to the objects, but disgust sensitivity (Disgust Scale-Revised) was not a strong predictor of disgust responses. Besides differentiating unpleasantness from disgust, this was also the first study to show gender differences in a disgust-evoking haptic task.     

正念与手机成瘾倾向的关系:无聊倾向和未来时间洞察力的作用

为探讨正念与大学生手机成瘾倾向的关系以及无聊倾向的中介作用和未来时间洞察力的调节作用,采用问卷法对790名大学生进行了施测。结果表明：（1）正念对大学生手机成瘾倾向具有显著的负向预测作用;（2）无聊倾向在正念与手机成瘾倾向之间起中介作用;（3）正念通过无聊倾向对手机成瘾倾向所起的间接效应受到未来时间洞察力的调节作用,即相较于未来时间洞察力水平高的大学生而言,该间接效应在未来时间洞察力水平低的大学生中更强。研究结果有助于揭示正念如何与手机成瘾倾向相联系,以及正念与手机成瘾倾向的关系在何种条件下更强或更弱。这对于移动互联网络时代预防和干预大学生手机成瘾倾向具有一定的启示意义。     

神经重用假说的汉语情绪词汇加工证据

神经重用假说认为对词的情绪效应可以不经语义形成而先行产生, 这更有助于人类适应环境。为了检验这一假说, 设计脑电实验和行为实验, 记录被试加工汉语厌恶情绪词和中性词的特征。结果发现, 170 ms左右厌恶词与中性词的ERPs发生分离, 且在枕部出现情绪刺激视觉注意关联的EPN; 厌恶词与中性词N400差异波溯源定位于脑岛附近, 其最大激活点时间窗口开始于380 ms。这表明在情绪词汇的语义分析之前就出现了情绪效应, 结果支持了神经重用假说。