Perception of disgust
2020
The project investigates the emotion of disgust and its ability to influence people's choices. It consists of a research paper and experiment which is trying to prove if different settings can influence people’s disgust sensitivity.
We live in a time when sustainability is becoming an increasingly important value for many people. This affects what we consume and how much we consume. Acting or thinking sustainably seems like a standard for everybody, especially in Western countries. Living more sustainably is a matter of choices and we, humans, first have to be willing to make these sustainable choices. Unfortunately, it’s not always an easy choice. Every day most people have to deal with different emotions that have the potential to influence their behavior. One of the powerful emotions controlling people’s ability “to choose” is disgust.
For finding an answer to the research question "How can different settings affect people's disgust sensitivity?", two interviews were conducted - one rather conventional and one a bit provocative. The purpose of these interviews was to observe people’s behavior and notice some changes depending on the settings. The theme of the interviews is menstruation because the menstruating body and menstrual blood are often associated with shame and disgust.
The first interview was intended to set up a neutral sterile mood and environment, no props were used during the interview.
The red color dominated the whole setting during the second interview to enhance the menstruation topic.
To evoke a feeling of disgust, a warm strawberry jam was pouring into participants' hands while clean menstruation products were lying on the table.
