In an experiment examining moral emotions, researchers measured participants’ anger and disgust towards pedophiles. To clearly define these emotions, participants were shown labelled pictures depicting facial expressions of anger, disgust, contempt, and fear, and were asked whether they felt any of these emotions about the group in question. They were then asked to write explanations regarding why they felt each emotion. The results showed that participants gave more elaborate reasoning as to why they were angered by pedophiles than they did for why they were disgusted by them.

Morality and Disgust: Experiment 1

The second experiment asked participants how they felt about 7 different groups of people. Prostitutes, homosexuals, voyeurists, and necrophiliacs were meant to represent different degrees of violation of sexual bodily norms. Activist feminists, Islamic religious fundamentalists, and crooked politicians represented things that strayed from norms that did not involve the body. Participants were randomly assigned to either anger or disgust, meaning they were shown images depicting anger or disgust from the first experiment and asked to rate how intense their feelings of anger or disgust were to each group on a 9 point scale. 

Morality and Disgust: Experiment 2 

The final experiment aimed to explain why people were unable to provide elaborate reasoning for their feelings of disgust. The researchers tested an availability hypothesis, which suggested that presenting participants with explanations would make them more likely to select them to describe their emotions. This was done by presenting one condition with a detailed list of statements that they could use to create an explanation for their anger or disgust towards a group. The other condition was not given these explanations. 

Morality and Disgust: Experiment 3

One study examined the difference in reasons people give for feeling disgust towards others whose actions violate their own moral values from reasons given for anger. It also looked at the difference in reasoning between nonbodily disgust (for example, disgust at someone being treated poorly) and bodily disgust (for example, disgust at incest). 

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One emotion that influences individuals' moral judgement and sense of morality is disgust. However, compared to other emotions, studies have demonstrated that people are less likely to be able to provide elaborate reasoning to back up moral judgments towards groups made on the basis of feelings of disgust. 

Morality and  Disgust

Russell, P.S. and Giner-Sorolla, R. (2011). Social justification for moral emotions: When reasons for disgust are less elaborated than anger. Emotion 11(3). DOI: 10.1037/a0022600. 

Social justifications for moral emotions: When reasons for disgust are less elaborated than anger

- Social justifications for moral emotions: When reasons for disgust are less elaborated than for anger 

Morality and Disgust References 

Morality and Disgust: Study 

An individual's inability to explain why something, typically seen in situations in which an individual is disgusted, is morally wrong beyond simply insisting that it is gross or wrong. This type of judgement is usually made instantly and without much thought. 

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