Fear, Anxiety & Disgust Class 22

Important Dates and Times QUIZ 2 Thursday, April 20 DIARY STUDY: Last day, April 20; Assignment starts DIARY STUDY DUE DATE: April 27 FINAL: Tuesday, May 9; 11:45-2:45

Stigma: Where fear, anger, and humor intersect Stigma—from “Stigmata”, a mark Who are the stigmatized? Those who violate social norms: Old, infirm, disfigured, disabled, social outcast, criminal, “the other” Reactions to the stigmatized? Fear, anger, fascination, disgust, interest, anxiety, derision

Why the Strong Reactions to the Stigmatized? Learned : e.g., parents’ messages to children Inborn : Part of evolutionary make-up a. Strong attack weak in hierarchical species b. Immediate fear and loathing to dead animals

Reactions of Chimps to the Dead and Disabled Reactions to anesthetized chimps (Hebb & Thompson, 1954) Reactions to paralyzed chimps (Goodall, 1971) Emotional reactions? Fear, anger, disgust, distain

Are responses to stigma always negative? Compassion: Some chimps adopted polio victims Fascination: Curious about people, who violate norms. a. “Freak shows” b. Tourists to East Village Admiration: a. Glamour of the rebel, bad boy/girl b. Respect for courage—Helen Keller Ambivalence: Emotions that go strongly in two directions at once—uncomfortable and powerful.

Stigmatized: Hyper-visible and invisible Hyper-visible: Staring at the handicapped (Langer, et al. 1976) Invisibility and being stigmatized? Invisibility: People try to not see the stigmatized I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. … it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. [People see] only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination—indeed, everything and anything except me. Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

Panic Attacks: Characteristics * Place people is full-blown terror mode * Powerful sense of foreboding, fear, dread * Physiologically arousing: heart, breathing, etc. * Mental readiness for danger: Planning escape

Panic Attacks: Causes 1. Biologically-oriented: spontaneous, arise from bio-chemical misfiring   2. Psychological: precipitating thoughts and events, especially separation-related: family strife, job-loss 3. Attack requires: a. symptom sensitivity + b. catastrophic cognitions + c. preceding/concurrent negative events 4. Patients complain about meaning of panic 5. Panics are a vicious cycle: arousal --> cognitions --> arousal How to manage panic attacks 1. Attacks last from 15-30 minutes 2. Knowing this allows people to wait it out

Dog Distance and Dog Size Study Fear and Social Resources Dog Distance and Dog Size Study 1. Think of a: Nice Dog Mean Dog Alone With Friend 2. Draw dog on path

Dog Distance and Dog Size Results Distance to Dog Size of Dog

Disgust vs. Other Basic Emotions Appears cross culturally X Has characteristic facial expression Defined by culture   Strong cognitive component Based on source experience—Ingestion Based on a particular body area—mouth

YUM! and YUCK! Are Culturally Influenced

Classes of Food Rejection 1. Distaste—based on sensory factors; smell, appearance, taste   2. Danger—Harmful, but could taste good, smell good. 3. Inappropriate—Not edible substance. Have minimal nutritional value, almost always inorganic. 4. Disgust— a. Based the thoughts and images it creates. b. Also presume they would taste bad. c. Have the capacity to contaminate d. Usually are animals or animal products—feces # 1

Oral Nature of Disgust Which is more disgusting: A. ___ Cockroach in your mouth B. ___ Cockroach in your stomach X Disgust based on idea of oral incorporation into the self   Mouth point of entry to digestive tract Mouth is emotionally highly-charged border between self/non-self Things in mouth more disgusting than things that get past mouth

“Inside” vs. “Outside” and Disgust Things become disgusting when they cross the self/non-self boundary: "Ego alien"--Allport Waste Saliva Chewed food "bolus" Exceptions: tears; loved ones' "products" Meaning of incorporation: You are what you eat.   Transmission of disgusting “essences”

A Tale of Two Tribes Tribe A hunts wild boar Tribe B hunts sea turtles Which tribe is more: Fierce Steady Noisy Introverted Tribe A Tribe B Tribe A Tribe B

Disgust and Omnivore's Dilemma Eats plants and animals   Advantage: Wider range of foods, flexibility in terms of opportunities Disadvantage: More chances of ingesting harmful things Role of Disgust? Helps quickly develop internal, automatic code for “good” vs. “bad” foods.

Classification of Disgusting Things Disgust derives largely from things associated with animals   Body waste Decayed animal matter Carnivorous animals Scavengers Animals that look like humans Pets Almost all animals are considered disgusting food sources Food prepared to disguise animal nature

Why Animal Aversion? Rot easily Produce feces   Produce feces Embody emotionally charged ideas Closer to humans; evokes cannibalism taboo Need to maintain boundary between selves and animals: mortality fears

Psychosocial Aspects of Disgust   Psychological contamination, trace elements Sympathetic magic: Fudge "reshaped" Disgust generalizes, Pavlovian conditioning study

Disgust and Human Development  Disgust not present in infancy   Freud: babies proud of waste Experiments: Kids < 2 years highly disgust tolerant Imitation dog poop 62% Whole dried fish 58% Grasshopper 31% Human hair 08% Task of preschool development--contamination sensitivity Kids < 8 reject, but on basis of taste not contamination Why 8+ to reject based on contamination? Ability for abstract thinking: digestion as process, understand particulate-->infection, understand time

What are these people thinking?

Disgust as the Basis for Morals: I Does ethical/moral sense arise from disgust? What words used to describe immoral or unethical behavior? Disgusting Nauseating Revolting Left bad taste in my mouth Turns my stomach What words used to describe immoral or unethical people?   Skunk Rat Louse Garbage Filth Pig

Disgust as Basis for Morals, II * Common link:   -- Disgust occurs at prospect of bringing something harmful into ones self. -- Disgust serves to expel things that are dangerous and that contaminate. -- Moral revulsion serves to keep self, and social network, “pure”, free of behaviors that corrupt or that contaminate.

Why is Disgust Entertaining?