disgust

Meaning: Disgust is a strong aversion triggered by cues such as spoiled food, bodily waste or signs of disease, and in humans also by morally offensive acts. The evolutionary account is that it protects against contamination and illness. Like other emotions it has three components: physiological arousal, a subjective feeling (cognitive), and behavior or expression, such as a wrinkled nose and raised upper lip. Ekman and colleagues found that people in many cultures, including relatively isolated ones, matched these expressions to the intended emotions at rates well above chance. This supports the view that the expressions are innate.

On the MCAT: A passage may describe a cross-cultural study of facial expressions and ask which finding supports universality, or which emotion a described face shows. Disgust is also used as an example when comparing the James-Lange theory (bodily response first, then the feeling), the Cannon-Bard theory (arousal and feeling at the same time) and the Schachter-Singer two-factor theory (arousal plus a cognitive label).

Common confusion: Universal expression does not mean universal triggers. What people find disgusting, such as particular foods, varies with learning and culture, and display rules (cultural norms about when to show an emotion) change how openly it is shown. Disgust is also not the same as fear: fear is a response to threat, whereas disgust is a response to contamination or offense.