That's Disgusting: Unraveling the Mysteries of Repulsion

by Rachel Herz

This is an alternate cover of ISBN: 978-0-393-07647-9

Disgust originated to prevent us from eating poisonous food, but this simple safety mechanism has since evolved into a uniquely human emotion that dictates how we treat others, shapes our cultural norms, and even has implications for our mental and physical health. That s Disgusting illuminates the science behind disgust, tackling such colorful topics as cannibalism, humor, and pornography to address larger questions: Why do sources of disgust vary among people and societies? Where does disgust come from in our brain and what deeper fears does it reflect? How does disgust influence our individual personalities, our daily lives, and our values? It turns out that disgust underlies more than we realize, from political ideologies to the lure of horror movies. Drawing on surprising research in psychology and evolutionary biology, That s Disgusting shows us that disgust mirrors human nature and, as a result, is as complex and varied as we ar

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Science, History, Sociology, Biology, Research

274 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Rachel Sarah Herz is both a psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist, and recognized expert on the psychology of smell. (Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Jay Green · Rating 2 out of 5]

An unconvincing journalistic take on disgust that draws on superficial readings and uncritical acceptance of evopsych research. Unwarranted assertion after unwarranted assertion like “We find slugs disgusting because they remind us of faeces.” I strongly recommend Lisa Feldman Barrett’s books on the formation of the emotions as a corrective.

[Chele · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, but the author is desperately in need of tighter editing/research assistant. Some of the more blatant inaccuracies tainted the book for me. Little things like musical and biological data are readily verifiable, yet the effort doesn't seem to have been made.
I now, however, have sufficient interest in emotion and expression recognition to pursue the topic elsewhere.

[Alisa Kester · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just as I suspected: after taking her oh-so-accurate test of squeamishness (sarcasm intended) I have proof that I'm not at all easily disgusted. Her tales of what other people find disgusting are interesting to me, but oh wow is her science flawed.

Saying we find snakes and spiders disgusting because they are covered in mucus? When's the last time YOU saw a mucus-covered spider??? Or my favorite: her long section of why we're scared of snakes (which likely will not harm us) while being totally unafraid of the dangers of sticking a wire in our electrical outlets (which would very much harm us.) She has a number of theories, but never mentions the obvious: We don't fear the consequences of sticking a wire in our outlets because we know we aren't going to go around sticking wires into outlets!

Although the book is interesting, and made me think, in the end I'm going with one star simply because she contradicts herself constantly, and because her "science" is just so bad.

[Annie Neugebauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This randomly turned out to be one of the most interesting books I've ever read. I generally don't care for nonfiction, but I picked this one up for research. I had six books to go through, so I had no intention of reading them all straight through. I presumed this one would be only tangentially relevant for my needs, so I opened it with the intent to flip, skim, and take notes if there were any parts pertinent to my research.

Well, this book turned out to be so good I read it nearly cover to cover. I kept trying to skim in the interest of time, but I couldn't do it. Relevant not just to my current research and my primary writing genre as a whole, this one is actually a psychological study relevant to our society, ourselves, and humanity itself. Her science isn't perfect, and there were times where her points seemed far-fetched or even contradictory, but there was SO much food for thought here. And you know what? It's fun and easy to read, to boot. Recommend.

[Amy L. Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: Advance Reader copy provided by Netgalley.

A mostly fascinating and easily readable work on what disgusts us, why, and how it is evolutionarily advantageous (or not, yet continues to be present). I particularly enjoyed the section on food and what different cultures eat that others would perceive as "disgusting." Hakarl anyone? Where Herz lost me was with the focus on gender differences in disgust. While gender research is important and interesting, it is way too difficult to divorce gender from socialization in determining whether women are genetically programmed to be different from men (in this case, Herz posits that women are biologically disposed to be more easily disgusted).

However, the mental and physical changes that occur during disgust were unknown to me, or at least unnoticed by me. Herz does encourage people to become more aware of when they become disgusted in order to determine if someone is trying to manipulate them (by exposing them to certain fragrances/conditions, usually in advertising) or as a means of evaluating a current fear/disgust in order to overcome it. While she encourages people to undergo desensitization therapy on their own, I was a bit concerned that there were no qualifiers to consult a professional. Another concern was her statement that human women can only by pregnant by one father at a time. While this is rare, it does happen on occasion and I found myself looking sideways at the rest of Herz's research.

The writing itself was easy to understand and the topic was covered with a reasonable amount of depth. An excellent choice for the bathroom library, if nothing else.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started this book a few months ago and abandoned it because it was so dull and poorly written. Then, I found myself thinking about some of the facts I read and thought, "Maybe I should give it another chance."

Well, the writing hasn't gotten any better, and the fact-checking hasn't, either. (Off the top of my head: Arlo, not Woody, Guthrie wrote Alice's Restaurant. Bill Clinton wasn't "temporarily impeached," he was impeached.) And much of the information is breezed through by the author, whether it's silly or not. (We are squeamish about snails because they resemble little coiled turds? Maybe your turds, lady.) I guess there were a few good "did you knows" in there, but please don't waste your time.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

This books seemed tailor-made to appeal to my interests. Quirky non-fiction? A closer look at an off-the-wall topic, and a slightly sensationalized topic at that? Bring it on!

Sadly, for as much as I wanted to enjoy this book, I just could not get into it. Close reading quickly devolved into skimming. For a topic with so much potential humor, the narrative felt dull and repetitive. Herz is excellent at citing studies, but never really hooks you with them. And while she starts off each chapter with a brief anecdote, this personal touch quickly gives way to the listing of facts.

Informative, I'm sure... if only I could stay involved enough to read it.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book definitely has the gross factor, which I expected from the title. And the examples and anecdotes of what disgusts whom are compelling because of the "don't want to look but can't help it" factor. The author purports to give a sociological or scientific or psychological (maybe all those) rationale for why we are disgusted or not. But I wasn't convinced by her "science." I'm not sure why I found it suspect, but some of it simply did not sound right, but I am certainly no scientist.

[Virginia MD · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished Rachel Herz's latest book. It is a comprehensive look at both neurological and the social origins of disgust.

I hope to interview her for an upcoming episode of the Brain Science Podcast.

[Susie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt the author did not clearly define what type of book she wanted to write, and ended up with a rather cluttered hodge-podge of scientific journal article and human interest newspaper story. The writing was mediocre, and while parts were certainly interesting, I don't recommend the book.

[Ashley Palafox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Generalizations that overstepped their utility (and truthfulness?), mixed with only moderately engaging writing, plus some interesting facts and ideas. I guess I was hoping for something more scientific in its analysis. Not the worst, but I wouldn't recommend it.

[rex · Rating 1 out of 5]

wanted to like this! thought the subject was interesting! but then i hit "facts" such as:

-a study got women and men to view porn and told them to rate their disgust. women rated higher disgust levels than men. this shows that women are intrinsically more disgusted by sex, because as we all know, porn is completely neutral sexual content, and definitely contains no misogyny at all

-a study found that countries with higher disease burdens had lower levels of sexual behaviour reported for women. this shows that women are biologically hardwired to be picky about sex in order to avoid disease, because women definitely are in complete and utter control of their sexual freedom, especially in countries with reduced access to medical care

-at one point the author states that quokkas are fictitious animals. she just... says that. i went to the study she was citing, just in case the problem was down the line, but it described quokkas as real australian animals. declaring that poor sweet quokkas are made up is a bridge too fucking far!!

anyway if i can recognise spurious evopsych reaches and a lack of fact-checking in the material that i do know, i can't trust any of the material i don't know, you know? so three strikes and out for me

if anyone does have recs for a reliable book on disgust/revulsion then hit me up for sure, it's an interesting topic i want to read more on, but preferably in the hands of an author who actually knows what they're talking about

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

*The appeal of disgust.*

Oozing scabs.
Rotting meat.
Lying politicians.

Disgusted? We're all quite familiar with the intense emotion of disgust, but why do we have it? Disgust—the only emotion we have that has to be learned—is all about rejection. Disgust evolved in humans as a way to protect us from death (both physically and psychologically) and anything else that threatens our way of life. As the author explains:
“Disgust evolved from a simple mechanism that helped us avoid swallowing poison to one that warns us of death by the slow process of disease, and is ultimately about the uniquely human awareness of our fragile and finite mortality. Anything that triggers reminders of these issues, from slugs, to skeletons, to the shattering of our worldview, can elicit disgust in us. All disgusts motivate avoidance, but what the specific feelings of disgust are cannot be pinned down. Disgust can be obvious, visceral, and simplistic, or abstract, philosophical, and complicated.” (p.232)

It turns out that disgust is quite a complicated emotion. It takes many forms—body disgust, disease-contamination disgust, mutilation-deformity disgust, animal, sexual, and moral disgust—and it is both universal and uniquely personal. It is also highly influenced by character, culture, and context. To experience this powerful emotion, we need an intact network of brain structures (the insula, first and foremost), as well as the the capacity for self-awareness, complex thinking and interpretation, and an understanding of social order and cues.

After reading this book, you'll understand why babies are unfazed by sitting in a dirty diaper (not to mention often delighted to play with their own poo), why you're disgusted by the saliva of a stranger, aroused by your lover's, and indifferent to your own, and why you're probably revolted by even the thought of certain acts (such as having sex with and/or eating the dead). And, beyond the realms of poo, spit, and sex, you'll also learn how disgust helps us manage our deepest existential fear—that of the inevitability of our own death.

By understanding this enigmatic emotion, we can ultimately gain a better understanding of what makes us uniquely human. Who knew that disgust could be so appealing!

(For added fun while reading this already highly entertaining book, notice how many times your face instinctively contorts in disgust.)

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I registered this book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13410067

I have long felt that disgust is an emotion that we can control. We can decide whether or not to be disgusted by something. In this book, Herz makes this point repeatedly, and notes that it is actually a luxury, a feeling the entitled among us may choose. People of little privilege don't have the option of feeling disgusted by insects, by strange foods, by certain smells, for example. Sometimes we just have to live with some things and it is better to make peace with the fact.

I have found this subject interesting for a long time, although this is the first time I have done any real reading on it. A few years ago I read a book by a woman who was thrown in prison for her political beliefs, and who was faced with cockroaches the first night. She simply got used to them. Obviously, no other course of action would be helpful in that situation. I admit that I tend to hold in low esteem those who cringe and make faces when they see a bug. I am not faultless in this regard, as I will jump when a wild mouse runs into a room or when a spider lands on me . I recognize, though, that this is on me. My choice.

Herz's book explores a number of aspects to disgust, including the type of disgust some feel for persons who do not adhere to their own concept of a moral code. For example, those who find homosexuality "disgusting". She traces this to brain behavior, though, and finds that this type disgust is not the same as that we experience when we encounter a pile of poop.

Her exploration delves into horror movies, germs, people, love and lust, and tries to find evolutionary reasons for our feelings as well as reasons some people love horror on the screen and others can't abide it, for example.

It is an engaging book, written clearly and simply and with some humor. I wasn't as entranced by her humor as others have been but can't fault her for trying.

[Birgit · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you find disgusting? Let me rephrase the question. Ever wondered why your own spit doesn't bother you, but if someone spits at you you're disgusted? Or how about feeling like you might have to throw up when you see an accident and there's someone lying on the street with a severed limb, yet you're thrilled when someone gets butchered in a horror movie?
Drawing on research in psychology and evolutionary biology, Rachel Herz presents fascinating and informative insights in her book That's Disgusting. While most of us know that disgust originated to prevent people from eating poisonous food, making it a survivalist emotion, it is in fact very complex, highly individual, and shaped by the culture we grew up in. And unlike other emotions disgust is not innate, but an instinct that has to be learned.
Starting out with the most obvious topics - food as source of disgust - Rachel leads the reader down some unexpected paths. Disease, pornography, cannibalism, humor. All of these can be perceived as disgusting, while some may, oddly enough, even turn out to be fun and entertaining (unless you dislike stand-up comedians making jokes about bodily functions, that is). Especially the chapter on moral disgust intrigued me. Influenced by culture, it evokes the same emotion as physical disgust, yet it is clearly different.
If you're interested in the topic, this book is definitely a must-read!
In short: A truly absorbing and well researched book on the mysteries of repulsion!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel Herz, a scientist who studies smells, wrote her first book about alluring scents. This book explores the opposite side, and goes far beyond olfactory issues.

Disgust, she tells us, is the most complicated and the most socially learned of all our basic emotions. The others -- happiness, anger, sadness and fear -- are more instantaneous, gut level emotional responses. But disgust has to be learned from our parents or other adults (which is why small children will happily pick up their own feces or drag home a dead cat in their wagons).

At its best, disgust is an emotion that serves the evolutionary purpose of avoiding illness from rotten food or contaminated liquids, and by extension, keeps us from getting sick from infected people. But these ancient impulses have their very dark side, because disgust is also the emotion most exploited by tyrants and demagogues to create hatred toward certain groups, and in cases like the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide, it is a deliberate and devastating tactic.

There are times when the findings Herz cites get a little confusing for me, in that they sometimes seem to contradict each other, but all in all, this was a fascinating journey through the emotion that we may understand and appreciate the least.

And the chapter on how disgust can be both an obstacle and a spur to sex is worth the price of admission.

For anyone interested in psychology and the emotional life, a recommended book.

[Leonca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this would be interesting, but the author’s theory seems overly simplified (fear of death + reminders that we have an “animal body”= disgust). Surely there are plenty of people, maybe even whole cultures, that do not obsessively fear death, do not care that they have bodies like animals, and yet can still get grossed out by whatever personally bothers them. For a more fun look at topics which can be gross I would recommend Mary Roach’s Stiff and Gulp.


On the positive side, I was excited to get insight into two things which have confused me for years:

The character Violet Beauregarde in 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I never understood why she was one of the “bad kids” when I watched that movie as a child. A bit rude, but not as bad as the rest. It turns out that chewing gum in public used to be considered vulgar.

TV shows that censor vomit. This has always weirded me out since I don’t get nauseous from seeing other people vomit. It turns out this is a fairly common reaction, so it must be considered courteous to keep vomit off of television.

[Shana Yates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Immensely entertaining and interesting, if not for the faint of stomach, exploration of disgust. The book moves quickly and is pretty close to un-put-downable. That said, this book is solidly pop science and the author does not fully back up her conclusions. I enjoy pop science as well as the next person, but throughout the book you get the feeling that she is interpreting all her data to support her conclusions, rather than letting the data guide her conclusion. Many of her pronouncements seem too pat and her discussion of disgust being an evolutionary adaption to keep us alive overstates the evidence and is internally inconsistent at times (she simultaneously makes arguments that this is an evolved response that no other animal has, but then claims it is also a learned response that children have not developed -- arguments that veer awfully close to being mutually exclusive). Regardless of its shortcomings, it will make you think and might make you shudder, and will definitely make you reexamine what you find disgusting and why.

[Max · Rating 1 out of 5]

An interesting topic but it just doesn't seem like there's really enough to maintain an entire book. I felt like once she'd introduced the topic for each chapter, everything that came after felt incredibly repetitive. There were also a lot of claims and statements that were given as fact but which were not foot-noted nor referred from any particular study. A lot of the "science" was very fluffy and didn't even make a lot of sense. There was a lot of ridiculous evolutionary psychology nonsense thrown in. Also, several of the studies she referred to seemed to ignore what would seem like major cultural influences--such as the study about promiscuity based on geography, for instance, which didn't talk at all about the history of religion in those particular (and they were very particular) regions. I didn't feel the need to finish it.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

For real -- as I was finishing this book during my lunch hour today, a student vomited onto the sidewalk about 20 feet away from me. That's disgusting.

Herz is the kind of academic that you just know must be as good at teaching as she as at research. This book delves into the psychology of disgust -- the last of the six primary emotions to develop in humans, and the only one that is unique to us. Herz discusses the brain anatomy related to disgust, how it is closely tied to our other senses, and also how, as an adaptive trait, it is both helpful and harmful.

Ultimately, disgust seems to be about our sense of self and our own mortality. I now know that's true, because if someone hadn't come and cleaned up that smelly mess, I would have died.

[Leah]

Yeah... this was not a good read. It wasn't so disgusting. Rather, I found the author's main theory (we are disgusted by things that remind us of our animal nature/mortality) suspect, and she failed to cite to research that would support it. Also, it seems to me the fact that what's found to be disgusting varies cross-culturally directly opposes that, right? I mean, if the source of disgust is as specific as she says, then shouldn't everyone find the same things disgusting, across cultures?

So, yeah. Back to the library it went.

[Yupa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Libro poco illuminante.
Nonostante la gran messe di articoli scientifici citati, la tesi di fondo dell'autrice, ovvero che il disgusto è una forma di paura della Morte (ci disgusta ciò che ci ricorda la nostra natura animale, cioè mortale), non convince, non fosse altro perché non rende conto del grande relativismo culturale e individuale che sottostà ai modi in cui il disgusto si esplica: ciò che fa schifo ad alcuni non lo fa ad altri, e così via.

[Donna Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it, I hated it. It was appealing and repelling, but fascinating. I also learnt stuff, which I love. A must read.

[Matthew Gibb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am much more fond of Rachel's other two books than this one. Both Why We Eat, What We Eat, and The Scent of Desire were packed with great information and written in an informal style a layman like myself could understand. Disgust is a learned behavior that humans begin to grasp around 3 years old. Prior to that, happiness and sadness are our first and easiest to acquire emotions. Followed by anger, fear, and surprise. Disgust is viscerally tied to our own mortality, and when someone sees another human being hideously scared or shamed by disease, they are inclined to turn away. Most of the time, empathy kicks in, which is something only humans are capable of feeling. The topic of disgust as it ties in with horror movies, strange laws, and lustful longings fleshes out this repugnant topic. I would have given it more stars, but the title itself made such a possibility impossible. Entertaining and informative, but taboo for the faint of heart.

[Phrique · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed every page of this book & I am almost sad that I finished it. Unlike my friends on here & fb who got my gross play-by-play updates as I read.

Final takeaways: Those high in disgust are also high in self-preservation. Disgust and empathy are neuro-cousins. Both emotions are at their core, fundamentally selfish. Both, can be used for bad but are ultimately good and are in our 200,000~ year old mental wiring for a reason. That being said, question what your brain is telling you. Don’t just do what it says because it is, after all, chunks of fat and electricity. Keep your head on a swivel, you’ll live longer. That is, unless you are part of the growing population that owns a gecko, which will statistically give you salmonella poisoning & be your ultimate demise. Sweet baby Jesus, keep them away from your babies.

Highly recommend this book, I give it 5 geckos.
🦎🦎🦎🦎🦎

[Ezra · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's kind of a fluffy pop science book. There's a bit too much evolutionary psychology for my liking, which I consider to be a sort of "just so" story. She also repeats the incorrect assumption that respiratory diseases spread by skin contact but I won't fault her for this since this was the general scientific consensus at the time the book was written, before COVID-19 exposed the faults of this narrative (and it's still the dominant narrative among many in the medical establishment). This book is intended for a general audience so it doesn't go too far into technical explanations. It's also short, so if you like pop science writing, you might enjoy this book.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't terrible...I definitely learned some useful and interesting factoids about the physiology and science behind the emotion of disgust. But the author had some pretty sexist notions about men and women and their experience of porn that I found very dated and off the mark, though that may have more to do with the experiments she cites than the author's personal beliefs. She definitely takes the side of unlearning certain disgusts that have to do with dehumanizing vulnerable people, but overall, I was kind of surprised that she had apparently so little scholarship in even basic feminist approaches to women's sexuality.

[Linda Branham · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book really discusses the way that some people find things disgusting, and others find the same things polite or an edible delicacy. If you have a weak stomach, you might want to read this book at arms length and take it in short bursts, but it's actually incredibly interesting. The book begins with examples and stories, some of which will make you laugh while others will impress you with things you might not have thought about before. I admit I didn't always reach the same conclusions and causes that the author did, but the examples are still relevant and informing

[Mike Cross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got repetitive after awhile, and lacked the historical and social aspects that would really add depth. Author also relied way too heavily on academic studies of undergraduates to draw most conclusions.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information was definitely interesting, but got repetitive after awhile.