Abstract
Disgust is a basic emotion that increases the organism’s survival
success by preventing the transfer of pathogens. In this regard, it
directs cognitive processes and motivates avoidance behaviors that do
not allow pathogens to enter the body. Moreover, disgust has many
specific characteristics that distinguish it from other basic emotions.
Firstly, unlike other basic emotions, it contaminates neutral objects
around it and causes difficult-to-change learnings. Another specific
characteristic of disgust is that it is based on ideational processes.
Objects, situations, and behaviors that do not contain pathogens can
also cause disgust. In this regard, disgust appears not only as a basic
emotion but also as different adaptations in different fields. In this
context, two distinct adaptations of disgust stand out: sexual and moral
disgust. These two adaptations of disgust benefit from disgust-related
behaviors and motivations in different ways. Sexual disgust works as a
gene protection mechanism while moral disgust helps maintain social
rules. The specific characteristics of disgust and its effects on
cognitive processes such as attention and memory interact with each
other. In conclusion, the multi-faceted structure of disgust shows that
it needs to be studied more in the sub-fields of psychology. Strohminger
(2014) states that “disgust is a psychological nebula that needs to be
discovered”. However, it is observed that disgust has not adequately
addressed. This review aims to examine the various aspects of disgust
and highlight its importance from different perspectives.