Conservative voters are easily grossed out
If you are someone who gets easily grossed out by creepy crawlies then you are also more likely to vote Conservative, a study has found.Researchers have discovered that the emotion of disgust is linked to political beliefs with more squeamish people positioning themselves on the right.
Tests in the US assessed peoples disgust sensitivity and political ideology by asking questions about insects, slime, gore and a range of political topics.
Participants who rated higher in disgust sensitivity were also more likely to oppose gay marriage and abortion, but be in favor of tax cuts.
The bizarre thing is this means people who would squirm when confronted with slime would still vote for David Cameron.
Psychologist David Pizarro said: "People have pointed out for a long time that a lot of our moral values seem driven by emotion, and in particular, disgust appears to be one of those emotions that seems to be recruited for moral judgments.
"Disgust really is about protecting yourself from disease; it didn't really evolve for the purpose of human morality," he said.
"It clearly has become central to morality, but because of its origins in contamination and avoidance, we should be wary about its influences."
LINKS
Cornell University
"Disgust really is about protecting yourself from disease; it didn't really evolve for the purpose of human morality," he said.
"It clearly has become central to morality, but because of its origins in contamination and avoidance, we should be wary about its influences."
LINKS
Cornell University
