Evidence that disgust evolved to protect from risk of disease
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Disgust is a powerful human emotion that has been little studied until recently. Current theories do not coherently explain the purpose of disgust, nor why a wide range of stimuli can provoke a similar emotional response. Over 40 000 individuals completed a web-based survey using photo stimuli. Images of objects holding a potential disease threat were reported as significantly more disgusting than similar images with little or no disease relevance. This pattern of response was found across all regions of the world. Females reported higher disgust sensitivity than males; there was a constant decline in disgust sensitivity over the life course; and the bodily fluids of strangers were found more disgusting than those of close relatives. These data provide evidence that the human disgust emotion may be an evolved response to objects in the environment that represent threats of infectious disease.
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Sharing a person's bodily fluids becomes more disgusting as that person becomes less familiar because strangers are more likely to carry novel pathogens and present a greater disease threat to a naïve immune system.
“sharing a person's bodily fluids becomes more disgusting as that person becomes less familiar because strangers are more likely to carry novel pathogens and hence present a greater disease threat to a naïve immune system”
From Disgusting Bodies, Disgusting Religion: The Biology of Tantra (2011) · cites this paper as Curtis et al. 2004
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- Authors
- Curtis, V., Aunger, R., & Rabie, T.
- Affiliations
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Curtis, Val
- Venue
- Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Published
- 2004-05-07
- Volume
- 271
- Issue
- suppl_4
- Pages
- S131-3
- ISSN
- 0080-4649 (ISSN-L)
- 0962-8452
- 1471-2954
- PMC
- PMC1810028
- OpenAlex
- W2080838132
- Cited by
- 842
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 42 · 2024: 65 · 2023: 61 · 2022: 64 · 2021: 78 · 2020: 45 · 2019: 50 · 2018: 50 · 2017: 46 · 2016: 47 · 2015: 47 · 2014: 50 · 2013: 35 · 2012: 28
- FWCI
- 4.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- World Bank Group
- 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, infectious diseases, disease threat, disgust sensitivity, sex differences, life course, biological fluids, close relatives, cross-cultural comparison
- MeSH terms
- Age Factors, Anxiety, Attitude, Data Collection, Disease, Biological Evolution, Fear, Female, Humans, Male, Sex Factors, Wounds and Injuries, Internet
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