From: NPR
Crickets And Cannibals: Unpacking The Complicated Emotion Of Disgust
It’s 3 a.m. You wake up abruptly with a bad case of dry mouth. You drag yourself out of bed and begin fumbling in the dark to get a glass of water.
You flip on the light switch, and there it is — a brown flash. A cockroach skitters across the counter.
Did reading this disgust you?
It may seem instinctive to recoil in horror after seeing a roach in your kitchen. But psychologist Rachel Herz argues that it’s not.
“Disgust is the instinct that has to be learned,” she says. “Young children are not very good at recognizing disgust faces. In fact, they often mistake the face of disgust with the face of anger.”
This week on Hidden Brain, we unpack the complicated emotion of disgust, and explore the ick factor that makes cockroaches, poop, and skunks so gross to us.
Read the whole story (subscription may be required): NPR
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