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Easily Grossed Out? You Might Be A Conservative!

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Easily Grossed Out? You Might Be A Conservative!
Description
To test whether disgust sensitivity is linked to specific conservative attitudes, the researchers then surveyed 91 Cornell undergraduates with the DSS, as well as with questions about their positions on issues including gay marriage, abortion, gun control, labor unions, tax cuts and affirmative action.

Participants who rated higher in disgust sensitivity were more likely to oppose gay marriage and abortion, issues that are related to notions of morality or purity. The researchers also found a weak correlation between disgust sensitivity and support for tax cuts, but no link between disgust sensitivity and the other issues.

And in a separate study in the current issue of the journal Emotion (Vol. 9, No. 3), Pizarro and colleagues found a link between higher disgust sensitivity and disapproval of gays and lesbians. For this study, the researchers used implicit measures (measures that have been shown to assess attitudes people may be unwilling to report explicitly; or that they may not even know they possess).

Liberals and conservatives disagree about whether disgust has a valid place in making moral judgments, Pizarro noted. Conservatives have argued that there is inherent wisdom in repugnance; that feeling disgusted about something -- gay sex between consenting adults, for example -- is cause enough to judge it wrong or immoral, even lacking a concrete reason. Liberals tend to disagree, and are more likely to base judgments on whether an action or a thing causes actual harm.
Original URL
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090604163620.htm

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    • JDP JDP
      8 months ago


      Another indications that "conservatives" (at least many of those who currently term themselves that - NOT the William F Buckley kind!) may "think from their gut" (emotions).
      Trawling the 'Net, Brain, Mind and Consciousness, The Skeptic, Societal Engineering, Public Policy, Science Discoveries, Science, Conscious Awareness, The Radical Twine, Politics, *Changing America?, Philosopher's Corner

    • george bigger
      8 months ago


      I find this assertion to be questionable - based on just casual observation (not 'scientific'):
      "Liberals tend to disagree, and are more likely to base judgments on whether an action or a thing causes actual harm."

      Was this a result found in the study? - or a conjecture based on the "perceptiveness" of the authors?

      For example:
      Did the authors note/study current events examples of stereo-typical "repugnance" for water-boarding 'torture' - and the correlation to those same populations concurrent support of late-term abortion?
      Did the authors isolate/evaluate those who have static moral belief systems(liberal and conservative) from those who typically make judgments based on each 'situation' and its 'perceived' impacts?

      Is more study suggested? - at least it appears that no "PC" opinions were 'harmed' in this study.. ;-)

      • Roger Hicks Roger Hicks
        8 months ago


        Agree. The study seems to omit hot-button issues for liberals such as global warming / environment, 'torture', animal rights, etc. I'd expect you'd find most liberals are somewhat repugnant to (or to opposition to) those issues.

        It's reasonable to expect people to be repugnant to issues they find to be morally questionable or morally wrong despite which side of the political spectrum they may lie on. I don't see how this study provided any new knowledge on this subject.

      • joelleea
        8 months ago


        Yup, PC opinions are alive and well, very well.
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