Aversion is a negative emotion characteristic of man. Synonyms - hostility, contempt, antipathy, disgust, hatred. Antonyms - sympathy, admiration, attraction, and even in some cases the word Love is applicable. This article is about disgust. How did disgust appear? What and for what reason can cause such an emotion in people?
From the point of view of psychology
In psychology, emotions are divided into seven types. And one of them is disgust. This emotion is akin to contempt, a negative perception of something or someone that does not correspond to one’s own internal concepts of the acceptable. It is generally accepted that a person cannot feel disgust for the animate, that is, for people, animals. The emergence of this feeling is possible only to objects, taste, smells, condition. Sometimes disgust can be caused by insects, some species of amphibians or reptiles.
A statement is not always true. Yes, some people shudder at the sight of snakes, spiders or mice. They are disgusted to think about the proximity of these creatures to them. Even the mere thought of touching an animal or an insect causes not just rejection, but horror. Fear and disgust often go side by side, occurring simultaneously, or one provokes the other. A similar feeling sometimes arises in relation to other people. More often it is called hostility or contempt. But the emotion of disgust that has arisen towards people is not uncommon. It happens if a person you know did something very bad. “How disgusting! How could he do this ?! ” Such will be the reaction of his environment.
Another interpretation of disgust in psychology. This is a continuation of any action after receiving satisfaction. And often it is not only about sex. Although such a comparison is also suitable. For example, the work performed. Having received satisfaction from the work done, having come to a good result, the same actions performed over and over will begin to cause a slight hostility to work, and then disgust. In order to prevent this from happening, the thing that people earn their living for is to love and be devoted to him. Although this is not common, and therefore daily work becomes routine for most and does not bring joy.
In terms of anatomy
Here the feeling of disgust performs, one might say, a protective role. A person rather tries to leave the place where it smells bad, does not eat spoiled or unusual food, involuntarily closes his eyes when watching scenes with violence. The body does not want to stress itself, at the subconscious level, choosing protection in the form of rejection.
Aversion is a barrier by which people protect themselves, their physical and mental state from things, actions or feelings that have a negative effect on them. Such emotions can cause the corpses of dead people or animals, excrement, fecal masses, etc. Moreover, the feeling that arises is so strong that a person may vomit or even vomit from what he sees. The causes of disgust in these cases lie somewhere deeply, at the level of instincts, associated with illness or a danger to life.
Acceptable for some, not acceptable for others
Conventional expressions are suitable here: “They don’t argue about tastes” or “There are no friends for the taste and color”. What causes a negative in someone is quite acceptable for another category of people. Often this relates to food or odors. For example, a Chinese dish of monkey brains will lead a resident of central Russia in indescribable horror and will cause disgust.
The same feeling is caused by the mention that Koreans eat dogs, French - frogs, rat meat is popular in Vietnam, but not those that run around urban garbage dumps, but those that live in the field and eat cereals and snails. But no arguments will help our person not to feel an aversion to such culinary predilections.
Bad smells
The same can be said about smells. Especially in the case of children. Some products, smells disgust them for various reasons. Goat milk is very beneficial for a growing body. But children often refuse to drink it and eat cheese from it because of an unpleasant smell. Kids may not like some fruits and vegetables, mushrooms, meat, dairy products. If a child is forced to use these products because of their usefulness, then this will not cause anything other than disgust for the baby. Sometimes the rejection is so strong that the child experiences nausea and even vomiting occurs. Over time, or rather, as you grow older, preferences may change - with age, the aversion and rejection of these products will disappear.
Moral aspect
With the help of such emotions as disgust, a person determines for himself the boundaries of the unlawful. That which is contrary to human nature causes this feeling - this, of course, is a taboo. You can include the following in this list:
- murder;
- violence;
- theft;
- indecent untied behavior;
- swearing.
All those who violate public peace, threaten the normal way of life, suffer from perverse addictions, cause most people to not just dislike, anger or contempt, these feelings develop into disgust.
American scientists conducted a study, which revealed interesting facts. Some words can cause disgust. For example, those associated with the physiological processes of the human body indicate an action or result. It was also revealed that women are more prone to experiencing this feeling. The younger and more educated the respondents, the more negative emotions appeared.
And yet aversion to man
No matter how psychologists claim, people are disgusted with their own kind. And this happens for various reasons. Various forums are full of messages like: "I am disgusted with my sister, wife, (brother, husband, matchmaker, parents, etc.) ....". The following are the reasons why this happens. Introspection is peculiar to man. Aversion to oneself like that is a negative and wrong emotion, if I may say so. Therefore, people are trying to find the true roots of this attitude towards others.
The protagonist of the popular TV series “ Lie to Me,” Dr. Cal Lightman, in the next episode explains to the audience: “If you see disgust on the face of your wife, consider that your marriage has come to an end.” And it's hard to argue with that. Such a relationship between a man and a woman does not have a solid foundation built on love, understanding and respect. It happens that disgust with a partner provokes fear. A man is afraid to be beaten, insulted in public, cursed. Gradually, this fear develops into disgust, unwillingness to be near a person, the need to distance oneself from him. Well, if such a marriage ends in divorce. Worse if the current situation finds a more aggressive resolution.
Reasons for aversion to man
Sometimes a person’s rejection occurs at a subconscious level. The reason may be:
- outgoing bad breath from the body or from the mouth during close conversation;
- untidy, dirty or torn clothes;
- human behavior or his manner of speaking.
It sometimes happens that some physical disabilities or injuries can cause negative emotions. Some people dislike citizens with a different skin color.
Emotion as a way to deal with bad habits
Modern society suffers from many addictions - smoking, alcohol, drugs, gambling. These same misfortunes include gluttony and cravings for sweets, leading to health problems. Therefore, people who want to break the habit sometimes wonder how to disgust them. Such methods are based on the body's rejection of harmful substances. Strong intoxication after drinking alcohol will make you forget about harmful addiction for a long time, and sometimes forever.
Methods for quitting smoking or alcohol addiction include aversion to the commodity. In order to enhance the effect, specialists sometimes resort to medications. For example, in the treatment of alcoholism. You may be averse to smoking with hypnosis. Having a strong will and desire to get rid of a bad habit, a person is able to instill in himself dislike for anything.
Little conclusion
Now you know what disgust is like. We examined it from different points of view. We also wrote about why this feeling may arise. In addition, in some cases it will be useful to cause an aversion to something, for example, to alcohol, in order to help a person defeat a bad habit, otherwise it will simply destroy him.