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Cited by 814Psychology of Moral and Emotional JudgmentEvolutionary Psychology and Human BehaviorEmotions and Moral Behavior

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 232 of the 232 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Disgust: evolved function and structure

Tybur, Joshua M., Lieberman, Debra, Kurzban, Robert, DeScioli, Peter·2013·Psychological Review
DOI 10.1037/a0030778
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Abstract

Interest in and research on disgust has surged over the past few decades. The field, however, still lacks a coherent theoretical framework for understanding the evolved function or functions of disgust. Here we present such a framework, emphasizing 2 levels of analysis: that of evolved function and that of information processing. Although there is widespread agreement that disgust evolved to motivate the avoidance of contact with disease-causing organisms, there is no consensus about the functions disgust serves when evoked by acts unrelated to pathogen avoidance. Here we suggest that in addition to motivating pathogen avoidance, disgust evolved to regulate decisions in the domains of mate choice and morality. For each proposed evolved function, we posit distinct information processing systems that integrate function-relevant information and account for the trade-offs required of each disgust system. By refocusing the discussion of disgust on computational mechanisms, we recast prior theorizing on disgust into a framework that can generate new lines of empirical and theoretical inquiry.

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Metadata

Authors
Tybur, J. M., Lieberman, D., Kurzban, R., & DeScioli, P.
Affiliations
  • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
  • University of Miami (US)
  • University of Pennsylvania (US)
  • Brandeis University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Psychological Review
Publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
Published
2013-01
Volume
120
Issue
1
Pages
65-84
ISSN
  • 0033-295X (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1471
DOI
10.1037/a0030778
OpenAlex
W2143523401
Semantic Scholar
eb58d867cb60702f4e5ba988aeff27e895483d72
Cited by
810
References
232
Citations by year
2026: 46 · 2025: 40 · 2024: 59 · 2023: 56 · 2022: 89 · 2021: 113 · 2020: 70 · 2019: 73 · 2018: 55 · 2017: 53 · 2016: 53 · 2015: 52 · 2014: 36 · 2013: 12
FWCI
16.69
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Psychological Review (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • VU Research Portal (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
Keywords
disgust, pathogen avoidance, mate choice, morality, information processing, computational model, evolutionary psychology
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Biological, Avoidance Learning, Cognition, Emotions, Humans, Psychological Theory

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