TY - JOUR
T1 - Skin-transmitted pathogens and the heebie jeebies
T2 - evidence for a subclass of disgust stimuli that evoke a qualitatively unique emotional response
AU - Blake, Khandis R.
AU - Yih, Jennifer
AU - Zhao, Kun
AU - Sung, Billy
AU - Harmon-Jones, Cindy
PY - 2017/8/18
Y1 - 2017/8/18
N2 - Skin-transmitted pathogens have threatened humans since ancient times. We investigated whether skin-transmitted pathogens were a subclass of disgust stimuli that evoked an emotional response that was related to, but distinct from, disgust and fear. We labelled this response “the heebie jeebies”. In Study 1, coding of 76 participants’ experiences of disgust, fear, and the heebie jeebies showed that the heebie jeebies was elicited by unique stimuli which produced skin-crawling sensations and an urge to protect the skin. In Experiment 2,350 participants’ responses to skin-transmitted pathogen, fear-inducing, and disgust-inducing vignettes showed that the vignettes elicited sensations and urges which loaded onto heebie jeebies, fear, and disgust factors, respectively. Experiment 3 largely replicated findings from Experiment 2 using video stimuli (178 participants). Results are consistent with the notion that skin-transmitted pathogens are a subclass of disgust stimuli which motivate behaviours that are functionally consistent with disgust yet qualitatively distinct.
AB - Skin-transmitted pathogens have threatened humans since ancient times. We investigated whether skin-transmitted pathogens were a subclass of disgust stimuli that evoked an emotional response that was related to, but distinct from, disgust and fear. We labelled this response “the heebie jeebies”. In Study 1, coding of 76 participants’ experiences of disgust, fear, and the heebie jeebies showed that the heebie jeebies was elicited by unique stimuli which produced skin-crawling sensations and an urge to protect the skin. In Experiment 2,350 participants’ responses to skin-transmitted pathogen, fear-inducing, and disgust-inducing vignettes showed that the vignettes elicited sensations and urges which loaded onto heebie jeebies, fear, and disgust factors, respectively. Experiment 3 largely replicated findings from Experiment 2 using video stimuli (178 participants). Results are consistent with the notion that skin-transmitted pathogens are a subclass of disgust stimuli which motivate behaviours that are functionally consistent with disgust yet qualitatively distinct.
KW - Disgust
KW - emotion
KW - fear
KW - insects
KW - skin-transmitted pathogens
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84979021533&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/02699931.2016.1202199
DO - 10.1080/02699931.2016.1202199
M3 - Article
C2 - 27380127
AN - SCOPUS:84979021533
SN - 0269-9931
VL - 31
SP - 1153
EP - 1168
JO - Cognition and Emotion
JF - Cognition and Emotion
IS - 6
ER -