Study: Conservatives More Easily Disgusted Than Liberals

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People who squirm at the sight of bugs or are grossed out by blood and guts are more likely to be politically conservative, new studies find.

In particular, the squeamish are more apt to have conservative attitudes about gays and lesbians.

Lots of other research has tied politics to biology and behavior. Some quick background:

-- A study last year found that when people feel physically clean, they are less judgmental.

-- Another study found that political conservatives tend to be tidy, with organized offices, but liberals favor colorful, more stylish but cluttered spaces.

-- Political views are driven by religion, culture and even biology, other research has shown.

-- A large, global study in 2007 concluded that political preference is 50 percent genetic.

The new studies

In one of the new studies, Cornell University psychology professor David Pizarro and colleagues surveyed 181 U.S. adults from politically mixed swing states.

They used a Disgust Sensitivity Scale (DSS), which offers various scenarios to assess disgust sensitivity, as well as a political ideology scale.

They found a correlation between being more easily disgusted and political conservatism.

Then they 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 results are detailed in the journal Cognition & Emotion.

In a separate study in the current issue of the journal Emotion, Pizarro and colleagues found a link between higher disgust sensitivity and disapproval of gays and lesbians.

In this research, they used implicit measures, which assess attitudes people may be unwilling to report explicitly or that they may not even know they possess.

The studies were funded by the university.

Morals and disgust

Morals and disgust are intertwined. Research earlier this year found that people react similarly to disgusting photographs by curling the upper lip and wrinkling the nose. When judging behavior, our disgust can actually make us feel physically sick.

Pizarro explains that disgust is evolution's way of protecting us from disease. Unfortunately, in his view, disgust is now used to make moral judgments.

Liberals and conservatives disagree about whether disgust has a valid place in making moral judgments, Pizarro argues.

Some conservatives think 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, Pizarro explains.

Liberals tend to disagree, and are more likely to base judgments on whether an action or a thing causes actual harm, he said.

Studying the link between disgust and moral judgment could help explain the strong differences in people's moral opinions, Pizarro figures. And it could offer strategies for persuading some to change their views.

"People have pointed out for a long time that a lot of our moral values seem driven by emotion, and in particular, disgust appears to be one of those emotions that seems to be recruited for moral judgments," Pizarro said.

An interesting related aside to chew on: Research published in 2007 in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that people who think of themselves as having high moral standards often become the worst cheats because they pursue what they believe to be a moral end at all cost.
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When I saw the title, I thought this was a release from the "Department for the Bloody Obvious". Either way, not surprised by these findings.
 
I thought that was common knowledge, why waste research money on that? :lol:
 
It DOES make sense, but I'm fairly squeamish and not too conservative. But I guess since I've always tried to look at things analytically, it's driven me to the scourge of Liberalism.

Can't stand blood, though. Or bugs.
 
In a way it makes sense. At the same time though I started reading here and was thinking to myself "...this isn't from the Onion, is it?"

For the record, I don't mind most bugs, and if I see blood on its own, I have no issue with it. Watching bodies being hacked up in a horror movie makes me squeamish though, as does decomposition with maggots and such... *shudders* And very bad smells can actually cause me to throw up.
 
PanicAttack said:
When I saw the title, I thought this was a release from the "Department for the Bloody Obvious". Either way, not surprised by these findings.
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This.

The whole thing about liberals pretty much described me, too, especially the bit about the cluttered stylish work spaces.
 
This is exactly right. It's also obvious; there are severe penalties to a person's character in making morally poor choices, sometimes far worse than any disease. I'd imagine that people who recognize physical cleanliness would more easily recognize non-physical cleanliness. And the thought of people ruining themselves and society(stealing, partiality...) does feel physically sick. And I favor bland room colors and clean spaces. That was actually a fun read, thank you. It also helped restore some of my hope in "studies" actually reaching true conclusions.

I'm afraid the "final aside" doesn't make english sense to me. There's nothing moral about putting an end to something in which one is bound by rules and therefore can cheat(i.e. games).
 
This just in, new study confirms that oxygen, is in fact good for our health!
 
All right all right, let's not make fun of the Republicans. That's my job.

Having said that, one look at my room could tell you flat out what I am. And that does of course mean aside from a Pokémon fan. My desk's a total mess, but I manage with it.
 
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