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By Eleanor Dong
Disgust and memory
The feeling of disgust enhances memory. Disgust seems to be a distinct emotion that is different than others, like fear. Disgust is a feeling of revulsion or strong disapproval aroused by something unpleasant or offensive. The trigger of disgust can be associated with any of the senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. Research suggests that the feeling of disgust enhances memory.
Remember something disgusting when you touched it?
Touching disgusting images enhances memory (maybe due to contamination). In a study at the Human Neuropsychology and Cognitive Science lab, University of Toronto, psychologists investigated the effect of touch on the memory of disgusting and fearful stimuli. Here, participants were required to touch images that were fearful, disgusting, or neutral. They remembered touching disgusting images better than fearful or neutral images. Participants also remembered disgusting images better when touching than when not. These results suggest that memory is enhanced when people touch a disgusting image directly and perhaps that disgust has a stronger association with the sense of touch than fear does.
Why might touching disgusting stimuli enhance memory? When you touch something disgusting, you might feel as though you’re getting…
