Disgustology (REPULSION TO GROSS STUFF) with Dr. Paul Rozin

Taboos. Intolerable foods. Sad songs. Sexy kinks. Candy that looks like poo. Let’s get a little gross, shall we? The foremost expert in disgust, Dr. Paul Rozin, chats about the emotions related to revulsion – and BOY HOWDY do we cover some ground. Why do some things gross us out and others don’t? Can we change that? Learn how research psychologists study disgust, from butterflies to bigotry, and from pranks to power dynamics. Maybe don’t eat lunch while you listen, but definitely tune in to learn how to conquer some fears.

Listen via Apple, Spotify, Podbay, Podcast Addict, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Browse Dr. Rozin’s publications on Google Scholar

Donations went to InterAct Theatre Company and the International OCD Foundation

Links to things we discussed:

Guys, We Need To Talk About Why Kids Love Saying The Word "Poop"

This is your brain on happy: Machine can read your emotions

The Moral Affiliations of Disgust: A Functional MRI Study

Why do humans hate poo so much?

Hedonic “adaptation”: Specific habituation to disgust/death elicitors as a result of dissecting a cadaver

Individual differences in sensitivity to disgust: A scale sampling seven domains of disgust elicitors

Individual Differences in Disgust Sensitivity: Comparisons and Evaluations of Paper-and-Pencil versus Behavioral Measures

The Disgust Scale

Disgust Scale - Revised

Exploring Hindu Indian emotion expressions: evidence for accurate recognition by Americans and Indians

Glad to be sad, and other examples of benign masochism

Current biopsychosocial science on understanding kink

The Psychology of Kink: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study Investigating the Roles of Sensation Seeking and Coping Style in BDSM-Related Interests

Global Preferences: The Most Consumed Meat In The World

Inside Out: Meet Disgust

“How Disgust Explains Everything” in the NY Times

Study: A Perspective on Disgust

Mystery of Disgust

The 'Vegetarian' Food Scholar Who Has No Qualms About Eating Human Flesh

Your Hot Dog Is Made of WHAT?! via PETA

How It’s Made: Hot Dogs

Epithelium

Types of Epithelial Tissue

A Moist Crevice for Word Aversion: In Semantics Not Sounds

A Language Expert Explains Why You Hate the Word Moist

Single origin of the epithelium of the human middle ear

SNL: “Bad Decision Family”

Wheel of Emotions 

Wheel of Emotions pillow & blankies

Varieties of disgust faces and the structure of disgust

You, Happier via Psychology Today

Exploring the Landscape of Modern Academic Psychology: Finding and Filling the Holes

Global Preferences: The Most Consumed Meat In The World

Bugs are blech, butterflies are beautiful, but both are bad to bite: Admired animals are disgusting to eat but are themselves neither disgusting nor contaminating

How Disgust Explains Everything

A Perspective on Disgust

Christina Agapakis: Toe cheese

Chemical imbalance in the forebrain underpins compulsive behaviour and OCD

Clinical Relevance: Understanding the underpinnings of OCD may guide the development of targeted interventions 

The Disgust Scale Home Page

Disgust is a factor in extreme prejudice

Other episodes you may enjoy:

Personality Psychology (PERSONALITIES)

Scatology (POOP)

Gelotology (LAUGHTER)

Gustology (TASTE)

Attention-Deficit Neuropsychology (ADHD) Part 1 & Part 2

Dipterology (FLIES)

Chickenology (HENS & ROOSTERS)

FIELD TRIP: Alie’s Mystery Surgery

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Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth 

Transcripts by Aveline Malek and The Wordary

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn